


A Different Universe

by Dunuelos



Series: Harry Potter, Lone Traveler [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 16:03:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 24
Words: 88,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20260765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dunuelos/pseuds/Dunuelos
Summary: The Traveler finds a universe where the people he trusted seem to be monsters. What should he do about what he sees?





	1. Visit by the Lone Traveler

Harry Potter was incensed. He had just been dumped back to his demented relatives again.

Just days ago he had seen his godfather enter the Veil courtesy of Bellatrix Lestrange. He had been given a prophesy which basically said it was him or Voldyshorts. The vaunted Order of the Fried Chicken had then goaded his uncle under the guise of 'warning him'. And then he had Hedwig taken from him and he was made incommunicado and guarded from outside contact on the orders of one Albus Dumbledore. Could his life get any worse?

When he got back to Privit Drive, his Uncle Vernon took him aside. "Boy, I will not be threatened by freaks! My sister is coming to visit and I expect certain things to be taken care of. You will take care of them or you will be in a permanent coma ward in the hospital. I have friends who are judges and no one will touch me for it. Do you understand, boy?" Vernon's face was turning purple. Harry nodded his head.

Once they were inside the house, Vernon punched him in the left kidney. "That is a reminder! Now put your freaky things away; you have work to do in the garden."

* * *

An older Harry arrived in a blue light. He looked around and recognized the park he was in. He had spent many a day running from his cousin and his friends in this area. He wondered why he was here.

He decided to disillusion himself and inspect the neighborhood.

As he was walking down Privit, he saw a younger version of himself outside in the hot sun, working on the flowerbeds at the front of the house. He paused and watched.

He was confused. If the signs that he observed were correct, he was somewhere around the end of fifth year. He himself, at that time, was holed up in his room for 4 weeks, grieving over the loss of his godfather. Why was his younger version working in the hot sun?

He espied Vernon Dursley come and yell out some instructions, mentioning his sister's impending visit. His sister hadn't visited that summer.

He looked around and saw the slight shimmering of a disillusioned Order member across the street from his own position, watching the abuse casually.

There was something wrong here. He would have to watch and figure out what to do.

* * *

After spending several hours watching the scene around his old home, Harry had caught on to a few things. This reality's Order was not very concerned apparently with his younger version's health and happiness. His legilimency had picked up the stray thoughts of the guard watching the boy. They never saw his disillusioned form; with the power he apparently had, it was too much for the lower level users to apprehend.

Apparently, in this reality, Dumbledore's orders were much more stringent and harsh than his own. Then again, he had never tested the scope of the guard when he was in the same point in his life; he had been too caught up in grief and his relatives had been cowed sufficiently that they had left him alone. Such was not the case here.

The orders were apparently much more Machiavellian; he was to be kept under watch and there was to be no interference from the Order as regards the treatment of one Harry James Potter at the hands of his relatives. Should he attempt to leave the area, efforts were to be made to put him back in the house and memory charms were authorized to prevent any "unfortunate decisions" that he should make.

This scene would require a much more cunning approach than he had imagined.

* * *

Harry looked around. All day he had the feeling that he was being watched. Unlike earlier feelings like it, there was no dislike or even indifference. If he was familiar with the feeling, he would have said it was as though he was being watched by … family.

* * *

The traveler apparated to the Burrow. He could have apparated through whatever wards were present, thereby destroying them, but he wanted to inspect the differences he had seen in this reality.

After a few moments of inspecting the wards that he found there, he concentrated on coming through them with the least amount of disruption he could. He was hoping that the Harry in this reality was keyed in enough and he was similar enough so that there would be no disturbance.

After pausing to make sure he hadn't been noticed, he crept toward the ramshackle building. He peered through the window and saw a sight that both warmed him and alarmed him.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sitting at the kitchen table with Ron, Ginny and Percy. They seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely talking about whatever they were talking about. It warmed him to see the family so close. It alarmed him because there seemed to be … an almost vicious humor apparent.

Ron apparently was regaling them with some anecdote or another with Ginny interjecting comments. Ginny pantomimed clutching her chest in pain and fainting and the others laughed. Wait a moment. The only person who was hurt like that in this time was … Hermione.

Why would these five be speaking about this with such humor? He remembered the incident from the end of his fifth year. In his reality there would be no such humor at Hermione's expense.

Suddenly the floo in the room flared and the Weasleys took on a more reserved look, almost as though they had put on masks.

Stepping into the room was a man he admired beyond reproach in his own life. Dumbledore appeared in one of his garish purple robes with stars and moons embroidered in whites and yellows. The masks came off again as they discussed something, with the humor apparently coming back. The figure of Albus Dumbledore looked at the clock in the room and made a comment; the masks were put back on.

The floo flared again and the images of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks appeared in the room through the fire.

The almost lugubrious expressions were apparent on the audience of Weasleys as the three new arrivals spoke. Harry narrowed his eyes. Something was feeling VERY wrong. He remembered the almost indifferent thoughts he had sensed around those watching Harry Potter. He started getting very nervous.

With an emotion of worry, he decided he had to spend more time learning the differences between this reality and his own. His anger flared for a moment, and the Dumbledore in the room widened his eyes briefly. He distractedly sent off Remus and Tonks and then made a comment to the Weasleys, which caused them to being searching the room and windows nervously.

Harry moved quietly toward the edge of the wards before he was caught by a closer inspection. Once he passed the edges of the wards, he apparated away. He had some people and things to check on.

* * *

Harry thought about what he had seen and sensed as he watched the moderately attractive house of his other teenage best friend. There was no indication of the Order watching the house, nor any death eaters.

He spied the parents coming back from their day. His other friend had appeared and greeted them, her wand surreptitiously held until some conversation on the porch had concluded. His other friend had a look of worry and pain apparent, well apparent to him really. He was certain that if one who hadn't spend every day of Hogwarts with that person would be watching, she would seem perfectly calm and serene. The parents hadn't reacted to the subtle expressions. Hermione was hiding things from them.

He watched them all get into the car and drive away.

He would have to work hard to help the Harry in this reality. There were things happening behind the scenes that he was certain that his younger self was not aware of. What was the best course? He apparated off to the Leaky Cauldron. He needed to eat and to get some rest so that he could plan his next move.

He came into the Cauldron and moved to Tom. "Hello, Tom," he began quietly. "I'm a lone traveler in the night. Do you have a room?" Tom's eyes widened momentarily as he took in the traveler's appearance and then he nodded. "If you have some time tonight, I could use some information on the state of things as well."

"Of course, sir; I will have some time after supper around 9:00. Is that satisfactory?" Harry nodded as he followed Tom up to a room that he could use to gather information and make some plans.

* * *

Old Tom and Harry were having a chat after supper.

"I haven't seen young Mr. Potter in the Alley, other than the period he was staying after he blew up his Aunt." Harry chuckled to himself; he remembered blowing up Marge. And although it had been quite worrisome at the time, afterward he could see the humor. "However, the rumors this last year didn't match up to young man I met then. Kept to himself fairly; not much of an 'attention-seeking nutter' if you ask me. The thing that struck me is that the professors from the school and his friend's mother that I have seen haven't said much when they've heard the comments floating around the bar when they were here. And that's the odd thing; Molly Weasley is incapable of being quiet when she has opinion. Arthur, the one or two times I have seen him here, is always quick to speak in his defense."

The traveler mulled this over. He agreed with Tom; that didn't sound like the Molly Weasley he knew. "Her twin boys have been in more recently since they got the shop. They are also very vocal when it comes to Mr. Potter's defense. All she would say is 'he's from a wealthy family; the well-off, they're eccentric'."

All of that seemed to match up to his own universe – except the part about Molly Weasley.

Harry decided to mull over what he knew and get a good kip in.

* * *

The next day Harry decided to visit Gringott's. He was going to check the policies on information; he himself had never gotten a statement when he was underage. Then again, Gringott's was more of a 'private lock-box' type institution versus the muggle type that deposited and disbursed against a recorded balance.

He learned that notices had been sent out for the will reading of Sirius Black. This was normal policy; all of those named in a will were apprised of the reading, whether they were of age or not. He remembered when he had inherited things in his own universe.

In his own universe, the information on inheritance had come from the Ministry. He remembered the Minister of Magic having come and seen him after Albus Dumbledore's will had been read. In that world, the will was probated through wizards. Not so here.

Here, the will was probated by goblins, and they took on their job of proper procedure very seriously. He had to tell of his unique history to get any information from the goblins and, after taking an oath not to pass on the information beyond his younger version, had learned that the goblins were concerned that there had been no visit to be apprised of the legacy of his family. This was compounded when the notice of the will reading had been answered by the magical guardian, Albus Dumbledore, rather than the client himself. They had even noted that another minor, one Ms. Hermione Granger, had also not answered personally. Other minors, Mr. Ronald Weasley and Ms. Ginerva Weasley had answered personally.

As the old muggle playwright had written centuries before: Something was rotten in the State of Denmark.

* * *

He apparated away to the well off muggle neighborhood he had been to the day before. In his jacket pocket, he had the notice for the will reading scheduled two days from then.

He watched for a bit to ensure that there was no signs that there were any watchers. When 30 minutes had passed with no indications, he moved to the front door and pressed the buzzer. After a few moments, the door opened to show a young woman with bushy hair and a polite expression. He noted that her hand was on the door and the other was beside her, apparently holding something away from view but still with easy access.

"Can I help you?"

"I have a notice here for one Hermione Jane Granger. Is she available?" The girl tensed.

"I am she." The traveler could see her become prepared to react. "Can you say whom the notice is from?"

"Gringott's." With that word, Harry saw her wand come more into view. "Yes, I'm a wizard, and no, I mean you no harm. I am delivering this on the request of Gringott's Bank and to ask you a few things that would help me and possibly you."

Hermione looked at the features of the man. He was an attractive man who reminded her so much of her unrequited love-interest; she decided to allow him in, though she kept her wand ready. Constant vigilance and all that. "Please come in." She backed away giving him space but kept herself ready. "If you would like to take a seat ..." she added, pointing with her non-wand hand toward a couch in the nearby sitting area.

"Thank you." Harry moved to the couch and allowed her to control the movements; it was her house. After he was seated, he looked at her and continued, "After some information gathering at the bank, I was asked to deliver this by hand when I mentioned wanting to come and ask you some questions."

"What questions? And why do you look so much like my friend, but older? Are you related?"

"As to why I look like your friend but older, the explanation will take some time. Suffice it to say, I am a somewhat older version of your friend. My name is Harry Potter and I come from an alternate reality."

* * *

After the explanations had eaten up a bit of time and Hermione had offered him some tea and scones, the two sat and talked of what was happening with Harry Potter.

"I was informed by Professor Dumbledore that I couldn't contact him for security reasons. I never personally received the notice of the will reading. All of these things just don't add up!" Hermione was agitated to learn of what Harry had seen the day before when he had watched his younger self. Hermione had wanted to go off and try to visit regardless of instructions when she had listened to the story.

Harry had stopped her. He had a plan. "Have you ever considered inviting Harry to stay over at your house?" Hermione blushed and admitted that she had, although she was nervous to ask. "Well, if I extended an invitation after setting up a few wards here, would you be able to work out the details?"

Hermione thought about it. "Well, I have to get my parents permission first, of course. But that shouldn't be an issue. My only concern is what to do about hiding the fact that Harry is here."

"Work it out with them, and I will do the wards. I think you will like it." Hermione's parents were due home for lunch shortly.

* * *

After Hermione and the traveler had explained things to the Grangers, he was given permission to erect some wards. Although he wasn't an expert, he had learned well from his Hermione from the time of the camping trip. He was much more selective than he would be if he was trying to hide the property completely.

He set up wizard notice-me-not charms to make the property less than obvious to anyone watching. They would know it was there, but they wouldn't pay attention to what happened on the property; it would be unimportant. He also set up wizard repelling wards. Anyone not keyed in would not feel comfortable about visiting and feel a desire to rush off to handle something else.

It wasn't a Fidelius Charm by any stretch of imagination, but the wards were sufficiently strong that any magical man or woman wouldn't feel the need to inspect the property. It would not do to try to hide the property completely as he didn't want any indication that there was anything out of the ordinary.

After Harry had cast the charms and wards, he took Hermione's letter for his younger self with him.

* * *

After watching the young Harry for a bit, the older one noticed that the person watching was Mundungus Fletcher. He wouldn't have seen it had the man not fallen in a slumber in the quiet neighborhood and the edge of his foot not become uncovered when he shifted. The elder Harry could sense the Muggle-Notice-Me-Not charm on him, so he was in little danger of violating the statute of secrecy. He was apparently mostly hiding from young Harry Potter.

Said teenager was apparently working without supervision. His Uncle's car was not there and his Aunt Petunia, though strict and disagreeable, was not one to interrupt Harry when he was gardening. It was counter-productive to the nicely manicured flower garden which was the pride of her gossip group. She even tried to distract Vernon on occasion. Not for the boy's sake of course, but for the sake of her pride and superiority in her circle of neighbors.

Ahhh, there was the horse-faced woman now. She apparently was going to go and gossip at the current queen gossip's house. After a scathing comment to the freak, she walked down the block toward said house.

Harry looked to Mundungus. Apparently he was too drunk to awaken from the small amount of noise.

He made his way over to the younger version of himself. He appeared to be almost finished. He hit his younger version with a non-verbal Muffliato before quietly saying to the teenager, "It's a friend, don't do anything differently. Finish up and make your way to your room. I have a letter from Hermione." The teenager looked around and noticed the faint shimmering of a disillusioned person near him.

He was so desperate for contact that he decided to trust that whoever had spoken to him really was a friend.

He finished the last bit of weeding and made great show of putting away the tools before opening the front door and looking about, allowing the disillusioned wizard to go in first.

The traveler moved inside and then undid the disillusionment. The teenager looked at the older version of himself with a bit of shock and some suspicion.

"I know. I look like you. Suffice it to say I can explain. Let's move it to your room and I have a couple letters for you."

Harry spent the next bit explaining himself to his teenage version, who was obviously shocked by the revelations. When he got to the part about Gringott's and Hermione, he passed the notice of the will reading and Hermione's letter to him.

The teenager looked through the letters and finally exploded with annoyance. "And what am I supposed to do? I apparently am prevented from leaving by the Order of the Fried Chicken. My owl Hedwig is being cared for by Hagrid at Dumbledore's orders. I can't do magic or I'll get another notice. So what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, I have a plan. First, who can you trust completely to never betray you?" Harry thought about it for a minute.

"Hermione. Lupin maybe. I'm not sure."

"How about non-wizards? Possibly a magical creature?" Harry the older asked slyly.

Harry the younger's eyes widened. "Dobby!"

Suddenly, said house-elf popped in front of Harry. "Oh, Mister Harry Potter Sir has called Dobby! How can Dobby help Mr. Harry Sir?"

The younger Harry began laughing as he greeted Dobby. Dobby was excited. He was shocked when he espied the older version of his friend. "Hello, Dobby. I am a friend as well. I was about to advise your friend here to hire you. What you say to that?"

Dobby bounced excitedly. "I would love that. Mr. Harry Potter, do you want to hire Dobby?"

The younger looked to the older and the older nodded at him. "Sure, Dobby. Wages like you get at Hogwarts. How is Winky doing?"

Dobby's ears went down. "Winky is still drinking butterbeer. I is trying to take care of her but she misses her family."

The traveler looked at Harry. "Maybe you could help Winky if Dobby here helps you. I think you could use the extra help from what I learned at Gringott's."

Harry nodded. "Dobby, can you take letters for me and help me get to where I have to go? Can you keep my secrets and not tell anyone I don't ask you to?"

Dobby bounced up and down and nodded his head vigorously. "Dobby can do that!"

"I would like to have you take a reply to Hermione Granger for me. She sent a letter and my owl is at Hogwarts. Two days from now, I would like you to take me to Diagon Alley and then afterward take me to Hermione's house. Can you do that?"

After Dobby and Harry had worked out what would happen, Dobby popped off with the response to Hermione's letter and the letter to Gringott's advising them that confidentially speaking, he would like to appear at the will reading and he would arrive early to discuss matters.

When all was said and done, young Harry thanked the traveler for his assistance.

"Look. I know what it's like to be kept in the dark. Maybe in my reality, I could count on others more, but still many things were kept from me. Your Hermione seems to be much more interested in you than mine was. Just because another Hermione wasn't right for a different Harry, that doesn't mean things wouldn't work out for you. My advise to you is to live your life, damn those that want to keep you in the dark. Your happiness IS worth something."

The teenager thanked him again. "What do I say to the 'responsible adults' when they ask how I got this information?"

Harry looked at his younger self. "Just tell them you were helped by a Lone Traveler."

Harry disappeared in a blue pulsing light while the teenager looked on. Thanks to his alternate self, he had options and a plan. He WOULD live his life. And Hermione being interested in him "that way" was something that he felt he could learn to live with, he said to himself with a grin.


	2. Preperations; A Magical Spy

Harry considered all that he had been told by his "other self". His other self had been in love with Ginny Weasley, and Ron and Hermione had been moving toward a relationship.

Apparently, in THAT universe, the people around him were as they appeared to be. Hermione was in love with Ron; Ginny was in love with him; Dumbledore wanted him to succeed; the Weasleys could be trusted; Snape was on his side but had to appear to be "Death Eater Incarnate".

However, in his own universe - this universe - the Weasleys were conniving; Dumbledore was an illegal jailor; he was being lied to; Hermione wanted him and not Ron.

Hermione. Now there was a name that brought a skip to his heart and the blood to his face, as well as other, less obvious parts.

He thought about his life. Obviously, he wasn't safe. Vernon Dursley, in direct contradiction to the "warning" from the Order, was being vicious and vindictive. The Weasels, apparently with Dumbledick's support, had something up their sleeves. Dumbles was keeping him in Durzkaban with some agenda.

He decided he needed to keep his head low and survive tomorrow before he sprung himself, with Dobby's help, and got himself in a better position.

First thing, act submissive and complete all the slave labor ... um, "chores" ... with minimum fuss. "Aunt" Marge, evil bitch extraordinaire number 3 (Bellatrix Lestrange and Dolores Umbridge were numbers 1 and 2 on his list) would be here the day after tomorrow, and his corpulent uncle wanted things perfect.

As long as he was out of here before she arrived, he would be happy.

Second thing, contact Tonks and Remus courtesy of Dobby express and fill them in. Apparently, according to ... well, himself ... these two apparently could be trusted.

Third thing, get himself to Gringott's early. Set things up so that he could prepare himself and contingency plans if things went pear-shaped.

Fourth thing, get Snape actually sounded out by asking Tonks to make some comments, with Remus watching on. Tonks could prattle on, and Remus could watch for reactions. He needed an ally at Hogwarts, and unfortunately, Severus Snape might be his best bet. Minerva McGonagall, until he could get some help verifying where she stood, was too risky.

Fifth, and most important, get himself to Hermione's. Apparently, she felt for him how he felt for her. And if love was the power he-knows-not, this was his best bet. He admitted to himself that his reasons for exploring this direction included a bit of teenage hormones. He would never disrespect Hermione, but he would love to be her plaything if he had a chance.

He would have to think of other plans as he finished his chores.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore mused upon his plans for the wizarding world.

His weapon was tucked away safely, isolated from outside contact. His chosen scapegoat ... err, the evil Dark Lord of the age ... had been damaged in his attempt to possess his weapon. This fortuitous event allowed Albus some time to prepare his next step to glory.

The interfering Sirius Black had been fortunately ... umm, unfortunately ... lost in the events which revealed to the world that Tom Riddle had indeed been returned to a corporeal form. He was of two minds about that.

He was ecstatic that one of the major obstacles to his plans had been eliminated. He was not happy that his sublime Order had been exposed to such a degree.

Although he really didn't need most of them, there was definite propaganda value to being the "leader of the resistance" and appearing to hold the "moral high ground". This he had learned in his conflict with his old lover Gellert.

When one wants to be the leader, one had to have something to lead. And if one could use this resource without prying eyes - until the right time - one could accomplish much out of the view of those that could interfere.

He would have to arrange something. Although Fudge was in hot water over Tom's return, Fudge no longer had the resources necessary to stay in power. He had left Fudge in position because he was tractable. The whole "conflict" of the year before had been part of his plan to make himself look like the savior that he really wanted the wizarding world to view him as.

He had NOT taken into account Fudge sending in his most vicious lackey.

Madam Umbridge had been an unfortunate choice as far as his plans went. If the Ministry had sent anyone else, he would not be in the position he was in. He had been hoping for someone that would concentrate on himself and not his weapon. This was so that when he DID prove himself the more "righteous" his image would be boosted beyond his already lofty position.

His plan had backfired to a degree as Madam Umbridge had concentrated on his weapon, recognizing that Albus himself would be damaged by this. When the "sewing club" had been exposed, Albus had recognized an opportunity.

When he realized that Harry had inadvertently put him almost exactly back where he needed to be, his pleasure had been almost impossible to hide. Of course he had used this almost overwhelming emotion to foster the illusion he had been "touched" by the boy's support, and this had worked splendidly.

In truth, he didn't care one whit about how he increased his influence and power, only so long as it WAS increased. Albus had used the name "Dumbledore's Army" to place himself at the opposite end to the obvious evil of the woman.

The "almost" in "almost back where he needed to be" meant that he had to flee the scene. But to such a person as himself, this was a small obstacle, if properly handled. However, the boy left to his own devices had inadvertently thrown a wrench into his plan.

The unfortunate result of this was that the boy's image was currently unassailable and there was too much positive feelings for him from the sheep ... err, the wizarding public ... and this could give the boy too much influence if he attempted to break out on his own.

THAT was something that couldn't be left alone. He needed to distract the public for long enough to ensure his position with the boy. But what could he do?

It came to him. He would kill two birds with one stone.

He went to the floo in his office, and placed a pinch of floo powder in the fire. He put his head in and called out, "Severus! To my office please!"

* * *

Albus watched as his pawn moved into the office. This pawn took delicate handling to ensure that the results he desired were the results achieved.

"Severus, please have a seat." Severus Snape sat quietly in front of the headmaster. "I need to know what the current situation is with Tom."

Snape thought a moment. "He is currently recuperating from the conflict at the Ministry of Magic. He will be indisposed for possibly another 2 to 3 days. His followers in the Ministry of Magic are being directed to pull resources from Azkaban Prison so that he may take advantage of the lapse. I was planning on bringing this up at the Order meeting tonight, so that the members of the Order that are Aurors could be informed."

"Well my boy, it might be best if I planted the information with the Ministry and we did not needlessly involve the Order members that could not do much about this. I will ensure that our members that need to know are kept in the loop. Is there anything else?"

"He has currently placed several members on alert for anything that aid in his attempts against his nemesis. It is being assumed, by Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy, that Sirius Black did not have opportunity to update his will and if he did, they could contest the will as Draco is the closest blood relative. As such, they are assuming that my godson will inherit. They plan on encouraging the boy to take the Mark to ensure that the resources are made available for the Dark Lord's plans."

"Ah, yes. It is most unfortunate that Mr. Black was not in a position to do more. Unfortunately, his will prior to his incarceration was inadvertently destroyed along with the Potters' wills and I do not believe he had opportunity to submit another will beyond the one he wrote when he first escaped Azkaban." Here Albus took on a sad look. "His closest relative not currently disowned IS young Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Potter, unfortunately, is not related sufficiently to take control of that house. It would be best if Draco was dissuaded from taking the Mark."

"I have attempted to do so at every opportunity. However, as you are aware, I must be cautious in my wording. The Dark Lord must not be aware of my own position on this."

"Yes, and I do appreciate the danger you place yourself in. I would like to prepare for the next step."

Here Severus looked alert.

"I would like you to pass on some misdirection. Tell Tom that I am worried about Amelia Bones becoming the next Minister."

Severus Snape took on a thunderous look. "I do not think that would be wise. Madam Bones is the only person in authority who is not a complete dunderhead. She alone was the deciding factor in Potter's acquittal last summer. Of this you are aware. If we place too much scrutiny on her, he might decide to attack her."

"I understand, my boy. I will be ensuring that she is informed of Tom's increased interest in her and I am sure that she will be protected sufficiently. I only need to distract Tom for a short time to ensure attention is kept away from Mr. Potter. There is currently too much interest in him, and a story of the valiant defense of Madam Bones would bring hope to the wizarding public." Albus looked upon his pawn with complete equanimity.

Albus was well aware what Tom Riddle's response would be. He needed the woman eliminated as she was one of the only hurdles left in managing the situation as he needed it to be. It would be unfortunate, but the death of Madam Amelia Bones would ensure that sufficient attention was taken away from Mr. Potter as well as his Order. It would also ensure that no one in the Ministry would be left in authority that might be in a position to forestall his control of his weapon. That must be avoided at all cost.

Severus Snape did not seem mollified. "Some things are far too risky."

Dumbledore responded calmly, "Here. I will complete the missive and send it off with Fawkes before you leave the office." Dumbledore wrote a letter to Amelia, stating that his informant within the Death Eaters was aware of an increased interest in her and that she needed to ensure she had sufficient security in the interest of the secure future of the wizarding world. He handed over the missive and allowed Snape to peruse it.

Severus Snape nodded his head and gave the parchment back to Dumbledore. Dumbledore called out to Fawkes. The bird flew majestically from the perch that he had placed control runes on so long ago. "Fawkes, I am sure you were listening. I need to ensure this message gets to where it needs to go." Dumbledore sent a mental image to the bird to drop the letter in the nearest active volcano.

Fawkes nodded his head and then flamed out of the office.

"Is that sufficient, Severus?" Snape nodded his head curtly. "Please go place the plan in motion and I will see to it that you are accounted for at the meeting tonight."

Snape nodded his head and then walked out of the office, to complete the instructions that he was given. He only hoped that Madam Bones took the threat seriously.

Dumbledore sat back in his seat and allowed a smirk to form on his lips. His plan was forming nicely.

Dumbledore really only made one mistake and this mistake was one that would contribute to his plans failing spectacularly.

In the aftermath of the events at the Ministry of Magic, he had failed to notice that Harry's tantrum upon being locked into the office had included some damage to the control runes that Albus had placed on Fawkes's perch. Harry's magic had damage the binding rune on his control array and Albus could not now that Fawkes was heading toward one Harry James Potter with information that he needed to be aware of.

Fawkes had gradually woken up to the slavery that he had been subjected to. He had listened in to some of the old codger's plans and decided that he would hide the loss of control from the human who had fallen so far.

It would be a different master that he would serve, and his new master would need all the help he could get.

* * *

Hermione thought about her earlier visitor.

She had been informed by an older Harry that her friend was being manipulated by those that he trusted. This really boiled her blood.

Harry had given so much to these people that such actions were unconscionable. He had saved the lives of almost every one of them at one point or another, and the idea that they were using him - and herself - was really making her upset.

She had begun making plans. She wanted to help get Harry out from under the control of those people.

It had helped that apparently somewhere something had sent a messenger that had allowed them to learn the truth. And that this messenger was apparently an older version of the boy she loved so much had been a bonus.

She admitted to herself that the older version was just as attractive in his own way as Harry was himself. If she was honest with herself, she would have to admit that the thought of either of them really made her tingle in places that one didn't talk about in polite company.

After she had gotten permission to have her friend visit and sent the message off with the Traveler, she had retired to her room to take care of her own personal needs. Her research on what to do next would have to wait for a bit. First she would have to spend some time with the gifts her mother had surreptitiously given her for her 15th birthday - although she had to wait until she had gotten home for the following Christmas break to actually receive them.

She and her mother had a close relationship, and her mother recognized that her daughter was growing up. They discussed things that some would consider inappropriate. Hermione really didn't have many close friends that she felt comfortable talking about these things with, and as a result she treasured the open and honest relationship she had with her mother.

They talked about the things that Hermione had experienced in Hogwarts. Her mother had been worried of course, but recognized that Hermione was her own person and would live her life as she saw fit.

They had many frank discussions regarding the different aspects to relationships and what could be done between two willing partners. She had been embarrassed for a bit after they had discussed alternate activities that a couple could engage in. She almost couldn't look her father in the face after one such discussion.

To be perfectly honest, the subject of these talks excited her imagination. She was a teenage girl with hormones. She put the "proper" persona on for her interactions with others her age, but in fact she was very interested in the things that one could do with the right boy.

Her mother, for her birthday, had purchased some toys for her. One, which didn't require electricity, she could take with her to Hogwarts. She had named this one "Harry" as she had the most opportunity to play with this one. The other one, the one that she could not use at Hogwarts as electricity didn't work as well in the presence of magic, she had named "Potter".

She decided she needed some time with "Potter" before she continued her research.

* * *

Harry sat in his room, thinking about things, brooding for a bit. All of a sudden, he noticed the flaming bird that arrived just in front of him. He saw the missive that it held and asked, "A message for me?"

Fawkes shook his head and looked at him straight in the eye. He played back the conversation he had observed in the office of the whiskered fool and the message that Dumbles had given to him when he sent him with the letter. Only THEN did Fawkes hand him the message to look over.

Harry swore softly as he considered what Fawkes apparently wanted him to know. After Fawkes had trilled softly and rubbed his head against Harry, he calmed down enough to ask, "Why are you telling me? Aren't you the Headmaster's familiar?"

Fawkes let out a slightly discordant sound. He looked into Harry's eyes again and showed him the information on the control runes that Dumbledore had used on him to trap him in his service. He showed Harry the damage that had been done to the runes by Harry and then sent a message of gratitude for his inadvertent aid to freeing Fawkes from the control of the manipulate old man.

Harry looked at the bird and said, "Although it was an accident, you're welcome. Anything to interfere with him I am perfectly happy with."

Fawkes trilled softly.

"So, what should I do? I would like to warn Madam Bones, as she might be my best hope of getting back some control. But if I sent the message with you, she might get the idea that Dumbledore was helping her. Let me think for a moment." Fawkes waited patiently for the small human to come to his own conclusions. The boy's face lit with a thought.

"What would you say to me writing the information to her instead of Dumbles? I'll send it with my friend the house elf and you can drop that message in a volcano as he asked. You tell him you did it and show him the memory and he won't know anyone else knows. How does that sound?"

Fawkes trilled softly in agreement and flapped his wings to show his excitement.

"Ok, let me look at this again and write out the message." Harry took a piece of parchment and wrote out the message for Amelia Bones and then read it to Fawkes. Fawkes bobbed his head. "Okay. Here goes. Dobby!"

Dobby popped in front of Harry with a hopeful look in his eyes. "Dobby comes. Does young master need his help?"

"Look Dobby, I am your friend. It would be perfectly acceptable to me for you to think of me as your friend rather than your master. But to answer your question, yes. I need your help. I also need Winky's help. Do you think you can get her to come here?"

* * *

Amelia Bones looked up to see a strange house elf in front of her holding a letter out for her to read. Standing beside the elf was another elf, female.

She was a bit shocked to be perfectly frank. House elves normally did not allow themselves to be seen by anyone outside of their chosen family.

She took the letter and thanked the small creature. The message shocked her just a bit.

"_Madam Bones,_

_I hope this letter finds you in good health._

_I send this letter to warn you of an impending attack by Voldemort against your person. Through various means, I have learned that someone has decided that you are in the way of their plans and have taken steps to betray you to your death._

_I find that I cannot just let this be. As one of the only sane members of the Ministry, I feel your survival is important to the future of the wizarding world. To counter these plans, I have asked one of the elves recently come into my service to watch out for you. She will offer her oath as necessary that she in no way intends to harm you._

_Winky has been ordered to stay with you invisibly until your safety is ensured. She needs permission from you to take you away from danger if your life is threatened. She cannot help you without this permission._

_I know that you also worry for your niece, Susan._

_I have told another elf, Dobby, that he must come if you or Susan call to him. Please give him permission to move her to safety should the worst happen and you are attacked. I do not believe she is in as much danger as yourself. But to be safe, I have told him that her safety is his primary concern for the time being and that getting her to safety shall take precedence over any activity I might have him engaged in at the time he might be called._

_Dobby is a powerful elf, and has saved my life in the past, even before he came into my service. He put one of Voldemort's inner circle, his former master Lucius Malfoy that I freed him from, on his arse when the fool attempted to send a killing curse my way._

_You should have no worries as to his loyalty or your safety if you agree to this._

_I have also asked him to tell you any information that he can of as regards the ponce. Dobby spent years in service to the man and knows of many things that he was involved in. He cannot divulge, by the nature of house elf magic, information directly regarding Lucius from that time, but he CAN divulge information as regards others that he has seen - for example our favorite Minister, Cornelius Fudge._

_I think you might enjoy a conversation with Dobby and I know Dobby would be more than happy to have such a talk._

_I only ask that you keep the information on the elves to yourself. Please do not let anyone, even those that you might think are my friends and allies, be aware that I have aided you in this way. At some point, I will tell you why this must be. It is too long for a letter. I will say this: Please keep information as regards myself between you, me, these elves and Gringott's as necessary. Anyone else, even those you might feel are trustworthy or that have my best interest in mind, must be kept in the dark as much as possible._

_With Best Regards,_

_Harry Potter"_

The Director of Magical Law Enforcement looked at the two elves in front of her, and reflected on the fact that Harry Potter was truly a generous person.

She settled in for a nice chat with the small creatures in front of her.


	3. Healing Rituals

Harry spent the next day toiling away at the garden in addition to painting the fences around the back yard. Vernon never noticed that more work than could be accounted for had been done. Without Dobby's help, Harry would have never completed the tasks assigned and would have been due some "encouragement". As it was, Vernon thought that he had well and truly cowed the freak.

When he had left for work the morning of Marge's arrival, he had tasked the boy with ensuring that all the final touchups were done to his satisfaction. He would inspect the results when he arrived home after lunch, and woe betide the freak if everything wasn't tip-top.

At 9:10, Petunia had left to gossip at a neighbor's house - the final opportunity before her overbearing sister-in-law arrived. Even Petunia did not like Vernon's sister. She instructed Harry that he would be punished if he didn't complete the items needed.

Harry noted that whatever Order guard was around, they never interfered with the casual abuse of the miserable wretches that made up his blood relatives.

In a few short minutes, Harry had made his way to his room and called Dobby.

"Harry Potter Sir! What can I do for young Master?"

"Well, Dobby. I need that transportation we talked about. I am to arrive at Gringott's Bank at 10:30, to prepare for the will reading of my godfather. I need to get to Madam Malkin's first so that I can make myself presentable. I need to shower and change. Can you help with the last bit of packing? I would like to make sure all of my belongings are packed in my trunk as I do not plan on returning."

Dobby jumped up and down as he replied, "Dobby can do!"

Harry made his way to the shower and cleaned himself thoroughly. He put on his best (meaning least damaged) clothes and at least made himself as presentable as possible. He decided to wear the parts of his Hogwarts uniform that he could, before he had an idea.

He called out to Dobby. When the little elf arrived Harry asked, "Dobby, can you use magic to adjust the size of the shirt and trousers I'm wearing to fit?"

Dobby nodded vigorously and then snapped his finger. Suddenly, the oversized items were the proper size and fit for his much-smaller-than-a-house frame. "Is that good, Mr. Harry?"

"Brilliant, Dobby! Can you change the color of the trousers, shoes and socks to a full black and the shirt to a bright white?" Dobby snapped his fingers again. "Excellent! Thanks, Dobby. Is this permanent?"

Dobby shook his head. "The charms will only last for a week or until the clothes are laundered again." He waited for some criticism.

Harry smiled at him instead. "That will be more than sufficient. Ok. It's almost 10. Let's get off to Madam Malkin's."

Dobby took Harry's hand in relief. Although he knew that Harry Potter Sir was a much kinder Master than his last one, he still unconsciously expected some punishment when things were not as the Master expected. That Harry had taken the reply given with apparent happiness was more than the little elf expected.

After taking his Master's hand, Dobby snapped his finger and the two popped in to the apparition point nearest the clothier's shop. They made their way into the shop, as Harry had a thought. "Dobby, can you pop over to Hermione's and tell her that I am already in Diagon Alley? You can take my things over to her house at the same time. I will be at Gringott's and if she would like to show up before the 3:30 reading, I should be available for lunch after my meeting. Also, ask her if she would like you to bring her instead of having her parents drive her here."

Dobby nodded his head enthusiastically and popped off to complete his Master's request.

Madam Malkin herself helped get him into a smart robe that would be appropriate for a will reading. At 10:15, Harry had completed his small side trip and started to make his way toward the Bank.

Suddenly, he heard behind him, "Harry!" He turned to see his female best friend running toward him before his vision was obscured by said friend's hair and he also found himself unable to breath.

Hermione had pulled back and started on her tirade. "Harry! I was so worried! I was already to go and asked Dobby to bring me early. I hope you don't mind. I really missed you and wanted to make sure you were okay. Have you been eating enough? I'm so sorry to hear about the Weasleys. Is there anything I can do to help? I really am looking forward to ..."

Harry decided that he was going to take the opportunity that his older self had suggested and he was going to work on his own happiness. So, to shut his lovely friend up so that he could get in a word edgewise, he decided to take a risk.

He quickly moved his face forward and planted a big kiss right on Hermione's lips.

Hermione, for her part, was quite shocked. Almost nothing else could have broken her stream of questions and comments so quickly. She quickly lost her train of thought as the awareness of what was happening seeped into her brain and she was lost in the sensation of finally being kissed by the boy she loved so much.

Harry felt the arms that were still around him tighten a bit and the lips he was kissing become more involved in the activity. Finally he stepped back and smiled at Hermione's gobsmacked expression.

"Hello, love. Would you like to accompany me to my meeting?" Hermione nodded dazedly as she began processing what just happened in her mind. Harry took her arm and gently guided her toward Gringott's.

Hermione's thought processes were well and truly broken for a moment. Of all the responses she had envisioned in seeing Harry for the first time after they had learned of what was happening behind the scenes, that one was the one she least expected.

Harry looked over at Hermione and saw that she began to smile a dazzling smile as she processed what had just happened. Hermione always had to think when things came unexpectedly, and apparently her thoughts were well pleased. That would work.

* * *

Harry and Hermione entered the bank at 10:25.

He made his way over to one of the goblins at a teller window and said, "Good afternoon. My name is Harry James Potter, and I have an appointment with Sharpclaw at 10:30. Can you please inform him that I have arrived and am available when he is?"

The goblin looked over at the large clock and saw that the wizard was early. He also noted the polite tone of the wizard. he nodded his head and moved off toward one of the many doors behind the counter. He shortly returned and indicated that he should be followed.

The pair were lead to a conference room and asked to take a seat. Harry thanked the goblin and made his way toward the table. He didn't notice the thoughtful expression on the goblin's face.

At 10:30 exactly, an older goblin made his way into the room with a number of parchments under his arm.

Harry, followed by Hermione, stood and bowed to the goblin. "Mr. Sharpclaw, I presume? I am Harry James Potter and I thank you for taking the time to meet with me."

The goblin stopped for a moment and sketched a brief bow before taking his seat. "I may be referred to as Sharpclaw, no human honorific applies. This meeting is at the request of the late Sirius Black. I was not aware of any others that would be present." He gave a pointed look at Hermione.

"This lady is Hermione Granger. She is my most trusted friend and advisor. I ask that she be included in any discussions so that she might advise me as needed."

Sharpclaw looked at Harry, then to Hermione, and then back to Harry. "Very well. According to the instructions of Mr. Black, you are to receive a medical scan for any potions, curses, charms or monitors before we can continue. Do you accept this?"

Harry nodded his head. "That is perfectly acceptable." He looked over at Hermione for a moment. "Sharpclaw, if she consents, can the same check be done on Ms. Granger? Any fee for this service may be deducted from my vault."

Hermione looked at Harry. It really was a good idea. "I would consent to this. Can I ask what the fee would be?"

Sharpclaw looked upon the two. An offer to pay fees before asked was noteworthy, and not expected from wizards. Normally, it was tooth and claw to get wizards to pay for the services Gringott's provided; wizards had some idea that other magical beings should serve them happily just for the privilege of being in their lofty presence. This rankled in the goblin mindset.

"The fee for this service will be deducted from the Estate of Mr. Black as this is at his request. Ms. Granger was mentioned in his original request, so there will be no additional fee required. Come with me," the goblin added brusquely and moved out of the office toward another area.

The two were lead down a set of stairs to a rough-hewn room below the bank. Several beds were visible. Sharpclaw indicated that they should wait and made his way to another goblin in the room. He spoke with the goblin for a few moments and then returned.

"The healers will conduct the scans. I will return when the healers' steps are completed."

Harry replied, "Thank you, Sharpclaw." He then bowed to the short creature. Sharpclaw hesitated a moment before bowing back and leaving the room.

* * *

"Please lie on a bed." Harry and Hermione had been approached by two different healers. Both were human. After being assured that what happened was private and would only be shared with the goblins, they had accepted the instructions.

Harry lay on the bed watching interestedly as the healer moved his wand over his whole body. And then made notes on some type of chart. The healer moved his wand again over Harry's head, paying particular attention to the scar on his forehead. Harry saw the healer's face take on a surprised frown. "Mr. Potter, has any healer talked to you regarding the scar that you carry?"

"No, Healer Johnson. It has never come up."

The man replied in a no-nonsense tone. "I find that surprising. Any thorough scan should have noted some things. There seems to be a bit of magical residue built up behind it. Has this given you any problems?"

Harry almost laughed at the man. "It has been nothing BUT a problem. I got this from Voldemort and there seems to be some effect that happens between he and I. It is always painful when I have confronted him and he sent visions though it to me all of last year. He also attempted to posses me through it, before he was ejected at the conflict we had at the Ministry of Magic."

The healer's face took on a shocked look. "That is very strange. I have not heard of such a thing. I must recommend a curse-breaker consult with me as regards to what can be done. Do I have permission to consult one?"

Harry thought a moment. "That would be fine. I would prefer that Mr. William Weasley not be the curse-breaker consulted as I have issues with some of his family members and I do not wish for there to be any conflict of interest problems."

The healer made a note. "That would be fine. I will be right back."

Harry sat up, waiting for the healer to return. He looked over at the privacy screen behind which Hermione was being examined by a female healer, wondering if anything had been found on her.

Shortly, the healer returned with another wizard in tow. The wizard, having gotten permission from Harry, ran his wand over his scar while incanting in some foreign language that was not Latin.

After the long incantation, the man and the healer moved to the other side of the room and whispered between them for a moment before the man left and the healer came back.

"The cursebreaker, Mr. Lufkin, has recommended a cleansing ritual to be completed after ensuring all other potions or magical controls be lifted. In our scan, it was found that you have been the subject of 2 different loyalty potions, several tracking charms, a mild love potion, and most surprisingly, a magical block normally placed on infants and removed by the time that one starts Hogwarts. It is placed to prevent excessive accidental magic in babies. Normally, this type of block uses the wizard's own magic to power the block, preventing more than half of the magical core from being used. However, your magical core seems to be sufficiently powerful that I find it unlikely that the block is working properly. However, removing the traces of the block is a matter of a potion, some charms and some runes. Would you like these things taken care of?"

Harry looked at the man. "Of course I would. Please do whatever is needed to remove these things."

The man nodded. He went out of the room and returned with several vials and some tools. He noticed that Hermione's healer had also left and returned with a few vials.

He took the vials and drank the potions. The healer asked him to remove his shirt and lie back down. He did so, wondering what would happen next.

The healer drew several runes on his chest with a potion that appeared viscous. The healer waved his wand over Harry's chest and suddenly Harry tensed in pain and a sharp sensation hit him. The healer took on a worried look as he continued the procedure. The pain in his chest became sufficient to cause him to let out a scream as the the incantation was completed.

Hermione, hearing the scream, jumped off the bed where she was just finished taking the potions to counteract the loyalty and love potions that her own healer had found.

She raced around the privacy screen to see the healer standing back as Harry writhed in pain on the bed. She attempted to rush over, only to be stopped by the healer. Tears were in her eyes as she watched her Harry in pain.

* * *

Fawkes sat on his perch in the office where the Headmaster would normally be. The Headmaster had left for the Burrow earlier to prepare the Weasleys for the will reading scheduled at 3:30. This meant that he was unaware of the fact that several of the silver devices in his office were letting off smoke, steam and began to move erratically in their operation. Fawkes was well pleased. He decided to flame off to where the whiskered would see him gallivanting about. He wanted to give himself plausible deniability when the manipulative one came back to the office to find his small devices wrecked and out of operation.

* * *

Harry slowly came to to find that he was being held desperately by his beautiful best friend who was sobbing quietly into his shoulder. He noted the healer off the other side of the room talking with the other healer and the cursebreaker from earlier.

He turned his head and kissed the top of Hermione's hair. Her face came up and she said, "Harry! I was so worried! Are you alright?"

The two healers and the cursebreaker approached as he answered, "I'm fine, except I feel like I've been playing catch with a bludger. What happened?"

His healer replied, "Apparently, there was more to the block than was readily apparent. What I thought was residue from a magical block was actually two blocks fully active. If I had known, I would have been much more gradual in the treatment. I apologize for the unexpected pain."

Harry waved him off. "No, it's fine really. I prefer it to be handled quickly and I can handle pain. So, what is the verdict?"

"The two blocks have been fully removed. However, your core will take a short time to stabilize. It might be best if we wait until another time to have the curse on your forehead removed."

Hermione looked at the healer horrified, as Harry thought for a moment. "Is there anyway that the curse can be removed safely today? The faster it is removed, the less effect I will have from Voldemort."

The cursebreaker piped in, "There is one option. This is what we were discussing, and it involves both of you. If a loved one is willing, there are runes that can be used to allow another to help with the stabilizing of the magical core. It is not risky, per se, but it can be painful."

Harry shook his head adamantly. "I will not allow Hermione to be subjected to that for my sake. I will reschedule the procedure for another time."

Hermione grabbed his face and turned it toward her. "This is my choice to make, Harry. If it will help you, I am perfectly willing to suffer a little pain for your sake. The chance to remove V-Voldemort's influence will make you much safer and I want to, no I NEED to, do this to help you. Please let me help you."

Harry looked at the tear stained face of his best friend and true love and finally nodded his head at the cursebreaker. "Alright. As long as there is no chance it will harm her permanently, I will agree to the procedure. Can it be done in time for the 3:30 will reading?"

The cursebreaker replied, "I have told Sharphook what is happening. It is 11:30 now. I want you two to eat lunch here, and at 12:00 we will move to a ritual chamber. The ritual will take about 45 minutes and then you should be recovered sufficiently to finish your meeting with Sharpclaw at 3:00. Will that work for you?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and then Harry nodded his head. "Okay. Let's do this."

* * *

Harry and Hermione were lead to a chamber that was lit with torches at the points of a large pentagram. In the center of the pentagram was a slab of stone with curious slots located in various places on it.

The cursebreaker started explaining. "This ritual will require that you disrobe and wear linen robes only. Linen is particularly resistant to magical effects and we can't have any other items in the ritual. You must leave all of your clothes, jewelry, wands, and anything else in the changing room. Do you have any questions?"

The two looked at each other and blushed for a moment before replying in the negative. They went to the rooms off to the side indicated by the cursebreaker.

Shortly thereafter, they found themselves back in the room looking at each other with a small amount of blushing between them. The linen shifts, not being very thick, didn't hide much of their forms from each other. Harry found the swell of Hermione's chest most distracting, and Hermione saw the outline of Harry's parts most intriguing.

The cursebreaker came back in to the room, distracting them from their mutual admiration. He held a small dagger, a stone bowl, a vial, a brush, and his wand. Following the cursebreaker were six goblins dressed in loincloths and wearing daggers at their belts.

The cursebreaker began. "I will need a small amount of blood from each of you to mix with the potion used to draw the runes. The goblins will also be required to add a small amount of blood to the points of the pentagram as well as a small amount for the rune-potion. They will be the anchors of the pentagram. You, Mr. Potter, will be restrained on the slab with thick linen restraints. This will ensure you remain in place for the ritual to be completed. Ms. Granger will also be restrained, but only her hands as she will not experience the full brunt of what is happening. She is only here to help provide stability for your magical core. Are there any questions?"

Harry shook his head as did Hermione. The goblins each took daggers and cut themselves on the palm, allowing a bit of blood to flow into the bowl. The cursebreaker gave the dagger he carried to Hermione and she also cut her palm and allowed blood to flow until the man told her it was enough. He then healed the cut with the episkey charm. Harry took the dagger and cut his own palm and let blood flow into the bowl until the Mr. Lufkin told him to stop. He healed the cut with the same charm and stirred the mixture with the dagger as he added the vial of potion that he carried.

While he was doing that, Harry took a moment to catch the attention of the patiently waiting goblins. "My name is Harry James Potter," he began, bowing to the group of small creatures. "I thank you for your participation in this ritual and the aid you are providing. As you are helping me, I will aid you. Should you ever need something I can provide, all you need do is ask."

The goblins looked at each other for a moment gobsmacked. It was completely unexpected that a wizard would offer such an open-ended agreement to such as they, without careful limitations on what was offered. As a group they bowed back.

One of the goblins, apparently the leader of the group, replied, "My name is Drigfang. We thank you for your offer and the honor that you have shown us. We will individually introduce ourselves at a later time."

Harry replied, "You are most welcome, Drigfang. I think it is more than fair to show honor to those that give aid in exchange for honorable profit."

* * *

Once Harry laid on the slab with only a pile of linen cloth below his head next to Hermione who had the same, the goblins moved to the points of the pentagram and placed blood at the points. Crystals on the ceiling above the points began to glow.

The wizard took the brush and began drawing a rune on the chest of each goblin. He then moved to the slab and drew several runes on the chest of Hermione that was visible between the sides of the linen shift. Mr. Lufkin, Samael as he asked to be called now, then moved to Harry and drew several runes on his chest as well.

After 10 minutes, he had completed the drawing of the runes and then stood back. Samael began casting in a different language than he had used in the infirmary.

Suddenly Harry felt something in his chest. It was a warm feeling. He thought about it, and realized that he felt Hermione's heartbeat beside him. It was a comfortable feeling that he was altogether unfamiliar with.

He looked over and saw the look of awe on her face, a look that he was sure that he was showing.

Suddenly he could feel a tendril of magic uniting them both and the residual pain from the earlier procedure disappeared as the runes on their chests began to glow with a blue light.

Samael nodded to the goblins and they began a low chant.

The cursebreaker then began chanting in the same language he had used to perform the original scan.

The pain in his scar began. He saw that Hermione had felt an echo of the pain, as her face took on a slight frown.

* * *

Voldemort was lying in the bed that he was using to recuperate from the incident at the Ministry. He was close to fully recovered according to Severus and was looking forward to taking the next steps.

All of a sudden, a pain similar to the one he had felt at the Ministry began to permeate his body. He called out to his current "nurse" Wormtail. "Get Severus here now!"

As Wormtail scurried out of the room, the pain got worse and he began to scream with the agony of it.

* * *

Harry was thrashing in his restraints as Samael continued to chant. He refused to cry out in pain. He could feel Voldemort's pain through his link and he took savage satisfaction in it.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore had come back into his office to a sound that he had not expected. One of his little trinkets was actually screaming as it glowed red with heat. He looked at the other gadgets and saw that almost all of them were no longer functioning. This was not good.

* * *

Hermione looked at Harry as he thrashed around in pain. She felt the pain as an echo on her own forehead. She sent all of the love that she could at her best friend and hopefully future boyfriend, hoping that this would be over soon.

All of a sudden, the pain in her own forehead became much more than an echo and Harry began to scream as a thick green fog seemed to billow out of his forehead.

* * *

Severus Snape came into his putative Master's sick room just as Voldemort was screaming in agony, his body apparently cramped up solidly. He watched in a mixture of horror, fascination and satisfaction as Voldemort screamed as though under the torture of a Cruciatus Curse.

* * *

Suddenly Harry stopped screaming and fell unconscious. Samael stopped chanting and saw the soul piece that he had detected hovering above the body of the boy-who-lived.

Sameal preformed the soul-banishing curse at the fragment and it seemed to contract in pain before it exploded. The crystals flared briefly, absorbing the ambient magic that was released from the destroyed fragment. He then shouted out to call the healers in to examine his charge.

* * *

Voldemort let out one more massive scream and then fell back into the bed. He was unaware of the scrutiny from the several death eaters that had come when they heard their Master screaming. Severus began to diagnose what the problem was while secretly hoping that whatever it was, it was permanent.

Narcissa Malfoy, watching from the group of Voldemort's followers, also had a feeling of satisfaction for the pain that was felt by the monster that had corrupted her husband and son.

* * *

Dumbledore watched as the tiny instrument that had glowed white-hot melted on the shelf melted and burned a hole through the shelf. He cursed to himself as he performed a freezing charm to cool the mess before there was a fire.

* * *

Harry gradually woke up to find that he had been moved back to the infirmary. Once again, he felt his best friend holding him, although when he looked, she appeared to be asleep.

He looked around the room and saw that the healers and the cursebreaker were once again in consultation with each other, apparently with Sharpclaw in the mix as well.

When they saw him look around, they hurried over.

"What happened? How is Hermione?"

"Ms. Granger is doing fine. She was exhausted after the ritual and we felt it was best to allow her to rest while awaiting you coming back to awareness. Let me revive her. Enervate!"

Hermione woke up looking groggy. When she became aware of her surroundings, she saw Harry looking at her with concern and she sat up and grabbed him.

"Oh, Harry. It was awful. If I only felt an echo of the pain, I can't imagine how you survived it directly."

"Hermione, I'm fine now. As a matter of fact, I feel great. Now, Samael, what happened?"

"Apparently, Harry Potter, you have been the subject of a minor possession for the last 14 years. There was a fragment of the soul of Voldemort stuck behind your scar. I could handle it only because of the ritual link between yourself and Ms. Granger here, as well as the support of the several goblins. The residue of dark magic is now gone and your core has apparently stabilized far beyond what I could have expected in the hour and a half since the ritual completed. It is now 3:20."

"Oh, no. We have the will reading at 3:30. I need to get ready."

Sharpclaw intervened. "The reading has been pushed back to 4:30. Those that have been named have been notified but not told the reason and we will have time to complete our business beforehand. I will see you at 4:00 when you have recovered sufficiently." Sharpclaw turned and walked out of the room.

The healer handed Harry a strengthening solution and pepper-up potion. Hermione was also handed pepper-up potion.

"Now, Mr. Potter, you should take few minutes to allow those potions to work before you will be allowed to leave. Your possessions are located on the beds next to yours. You may use the privacy screen across the way to dress."

"I want to thank you three for the help you have provided. As I offered the goblins, if there is anything I can do to help you in the future, you have only to ask."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," the male healer replied and the other two echoed. "I will be back in approximately 20 minutes to clear you to leave."

The three left to give some privacy to their client.

Hermione looked at Harry. "So really, how are you doing?"

Harry looked at her and grinned. "Honestly, I am feeling great. I don't feel anything from the scar anymore and I haven't felt better in a long time.

"Your scar, by the way, has considerably lessened."

"Really? I have got to see this."

"Let me get my compact from my purse." Hermione climbed out of the bed and leaned over the items on the next bed to search her purse. Harry looked at the way the linen showed the shape of her bum and felt a rise in unexpected places.

Hermione turned back to see Harry blushing and smiling at her at the same time and realized she was still very visible in her current garb. She blushed as she handed over the compact.

"You're right, it's almost gone. And I have to say, linen does wonders for seeing the good parts that can be seen." Harry wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Hermione blushed before slapping his shoulder and yelling out, "Prat!" before she broke into giggles.

The two took turns changing back into their regular clothes before the healer returned and caught them ogling each other.

* * *

"Mr. Potter," Sharpclaw began.

"Please, call me Harry."

"Very well, Harry. Mr. Black left specific instructions to be completed before his will could be read. Part of those instructions included the scans and treatments you have already received. As his primary beneficiary, I will let you know that G4000 has been charged for the services you have already received."

"That sounds reasonable. As a matter of fact, I would ask that an additional G1000 be taken from whatever account of mine you wish, to be split evenly between the goblins who helped in the ritual, the cursebreaker, the two healers and yourself."

"I will take care of that shortly. And I thank you on behalf of the Gringott's employees you mentioned. Now, there are a few more steps to be taken before the reading. First, ..."


	4. The Last Will of Sirius Orion Black

At 2:30 in the afternoon, Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk and looked at the several broken instruments on his shelf.

Something had happened with young Mr. Potter. Something had happened which had interrupted all of the monitors he had which told him the status of his weapon. He had dispatched Minerva McGonagall to Privet Drive to check on Harry Potter and the guard which was supposed to be watching. Mundungus Fletcher was not the most reliable person in the world, but he had been available.

He had received a missive from Gringott's informing him that the will reading for one Sirius Black had been pushed back an hour "due to stated requisites for the will reading to take place not being completed until that time". He didn't quite understand that; it was rare indeed for there to be conditions set for a will to be read.

Nevertheless, Mr. Potter must be kept away from Gringott's at all cost. Ms. Granger's attendance had already been taken care of in the same way that Mr. Potter's had, but the boy had uncanny luck at times and he didn't want to take any chances.

Just then her heard a call from the floo. "Albus, the boy has disappeared."

Albus's only thought was: Shite!

* * *

At 4:20, the Weasleys made their way down Diagon Alley toward Gringott's for the will reading of Sirius Black.

Arthur and Molly nodded to the several Order members which were present in the Alley, ensuring that Harry Potter stayed away "for his own safety". Ron and Ginny chattered incessantly about what they might be receiving.

Once inside, Molly Weasley went up to a teller and said, "We are here for the will reading of Sirius Black". Unfortunately for her, she let a small amount of her disapproval for the goblins show through. The goblin took one look at her, sneered, and said "Follow me" abruptly as he moved toward a door in the bank.

The family was led to a large conference room where several witches and wizards were already seated. The Weasleys noted that already present were Andromeda and Ted Tonks, Augusta Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Minerva McGonagall, Amelia Bones, and their sons Bill and Charlie. They took up the seats nearest Bill and Charlie.

Soon they were joined by a sneering Severus Snape who was followed by Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. The latter two attempted to sit at the seats nearest the head of the table but were shooed off of these two seats by the goblin guard which stood near the three seats at the head of the table. Draco was about to make a harsh comment to the guard, but was dragged off by his mother toward the seats next to Severus. At 4:28, Albus Dumbledore strode in to take his seat at the foot of the table, directly across from the center chair at the head.

At 4:29, two more people entered, not from the door nearest the Lobby, but the door nearest the goblin offices. Everyone noted that these two were Harry and Hermione Granger. The Order members present were surprised, but the Weasleys were shocked.

Albus had told them that Harry and Hermione were to be kept away. They wondered how they had been informed and had arrived long before the reading. Order members had arrived by 1:30 to prevent their attendance at the 3:30 reading. No one could have known, without checking earlier, that they had already arrived.

The fact that the two had both been in Gringott's by 10:30 prevented interference by the Order.

The Weasleys noted that the two sat on the two chairs flanking the head of the table and faced directly forward with no change of expression and did not look around to make eye contact with anyone else.

Albus Dumbledore was both livid and severely worried. Behind his grandfatherly facade, he was wondering just how the two had outmaneuvered the Order members that were tasked with preventing this.

At 4:30, a goblin arrived carrying several parchments. Behind him were a score of goblins which lined the walls in guard positions. These made no overt threat, but those familiar with Gringott's knew that they would not hesitate to quell any violent interruptions.

Harry and Hermione stood and bowed to the goblin as he made his way toward the conference table. Several of the others present followed their actions, although it was noted that Draco Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore were two who did not, even if they stood up with all of the others.

"Please be seated. I am Sharphook, a sub-manager for Inheritance and Bequeathments at Gringott's Bank, Main Branch, London England. You have all been called here to witness the reading of the Last Will and Testament of Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, dated 10 June of this year. Are there any questions before we begin?"

If Harry had looked around the room, he would have laughed. No one was aware that there had been a new will submitted to Gringott's and the Malfoys were well aware that this meant a fight to discredit the will.

Amelia Bones raised her hand. Sharpclaw nodded for her to continue. "I only have a question as a point of Law. On 10 June of this year, Sirius Black was still classified as a fugitive from the Ministry of Magic. Does this effect the legality of the Will?"

Sharpclaw replied in a brusque voice. "Gringott's does not recognize this as a factor as Mr. Black, according to our records verified with the Ministry of Magic, never received a hearing, trial or conviction for any crimes. There must be a hearing, whether the fugitive is present or not, before the assets may be encumbered. A verified copy of a pensieve recording of a confession under Veritaserum may be used for this as well. In order for fugitive status to affect the disbursement of assets after a death, the person must be convicted before their passing. As a result, there can be no injunction against the Will moving forward based upon this point of Law."

Amelia looked surprised and a little offended. "I was not aware that Mr. Black never received a hearing or trial. I withdraw any objections from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Are there any other questions?" No one responded. "Very well. We will begin."

The goblin tapped a rune on the side of the pensieve and the image of Sirius Black rose above the bowl looking out upon the audience.

_"Hello, all. My name is Sirius Orion Black, recently departed Head of the Noble House of Black. I hereby attest that I am of sound mind and body, and this has been verified by a certified healer at Gringott's Bank as of the date of this recording, 10 June 1996. Should there be any question of this, Sharpclaw has the required documents._

_"Before we may proceed beyond this point, several items must be completed. These do not affect inheritance, and so these things cannot be contested as I originated the paperwork when I was still alive._

_"Andromeda Tonks and Nymphadora Tonks (you can't hex me now) are hereby reinstated to the Noble House of Black and they are entitled to all rights and privileges thereunto. Sharpclaw will distribute the signed affidavit from myself making this true."_

Sharclaw tapped the rune and the image paused. "Mrs. Tonks and Ms. Tonks, do you accept the delivery of these affidavits signed and sealed 10 June 1996 from one Sirius Orion Black?"

Andromeda was crying softly and Tonks's hair was rippling as she sat there stunned. Both replied in the affirmative before Sharpclaw handed their affidavits over to them.

Sharpclaw tapped the rune again.

_"There. Now that's done. Welcome back to the family, Andi, and welcome to the family for the first time, Dora._

_"Now, before we go any further in the proceedings, I must inform you all that contrary to popular belief, there IS a blood heir of the House of Black. As he is the primary beneficiary, there will be no cause to contest this Will based on con sanguinity or lack thereof. Harry James Potter, by magical blood adoption completed prior to this time is of blood descent from the House of Black. Even without that, he is the Grandson of Dorea Black Potter and so carries the blood of the Noble House of Black. He shall now be known as Harry James Potter-Black._

_"Sharpclaw will distribute copies of the affidavit, signed by myself and witnessed by Gringott's to all members of the House of Black, the current Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and one for the Ministry of Magic."_

Sharpclaw tapped the rune again, and handed another set of parchments out. Copies went to Andromeda, Narcissa, Draco, Tonks, Dumbledore, and Amelia Bones. Sharpclaw added, "Copies of this have also been added to the vault of Bellatrix Black Lestrange."

_"Now, to get to the good parts._

_"This portion shall contain non-conditional bequeaths_

_"Andromeda Black Tonks, you shall receive G1,200,000 in recognition that you should never have lost you name for following her heart. In addition, 25% of the jewels and precious stones contained in the Black Vault. Andi, Gringott's has already deposited this in a vault set aside for you. I love you, cousin._

_"Nymphadora Black Tonks (I totally love saying that without being hexed), you shall receive G500,000 directly and a G25,000 dowry, held in trust until you get married. You shall have complete control over whom you decide to wed in the future. In addition, 10% of the jewels and precious stones in the Black Vault are yours as well._

_"Remus John Lupin, you are my brother in all but blood. You inherit ... a key. This key opens a vault created in your name here at Gringott's. The money in the vault is already yours as of this date and so the Ministry cannot interfere based on those bloody werewolf regulations. In the spirit of the Marauders I task you with ensuring all of our descendants continue in the noble art._

_"Arthur and Molly Weasley, there will be more later in the conditional section, but I am giving you G10,000 galleons. This might seem a small amount. but more will be explained later._

_"Ronald Weasley, G500. Once again, more will be explained later._

_"Ginerva Weasley, G500. Again, Later._

_"William Weasley, I like you a lot. And you no longer live at home and so you have more expenses. I am leaving you with G5,000 directly and G5,000 set up as a trust for a Bride Price. You know the witch you want, so go and get her._

_"Charlie Weasley, like your brother you have made your own way. I am leaving the same as I left to your older brother. G5,000 directly and G5,000 as a Bride Price to whatever witch you choose. Get on the ball, man._

_"Percy Weasley, who is not here, has been left out for being a prat._

_"Fred and George Weasley, I leave you my shares of Zonko's, G10,000 for your business and the same setup as your brothers for another G10,000 each. And one more set of instructions: PRANK THE WORLD!_

_"Hermione Granger, this is only the first part. G500 AND all of the books contained in the Black Family Library, save those that are restricted to blood relatives. Gringott's will inspect the Library upon request and remove any curses or cursed books at your request. It's better to get someone who knows what they are doing to handle that part. Any books that have been 'removed for safety reasons' or 'borrowed for personal use' MUST be returned within 7 days. Gringott's is charged with the delivery to a vault set up for this reason. Any books not returned will be chased down by the goblins and a fine of G100 for EACH BOOK shall be charged to anyone interfering with this. Sorry, Molly and Albus. You don't get to choose._

_"Draco Malfoy. Okay, I don't like you. I don't trust you. I think you are an arrogant ponce. However, we ARE related by blood and as of this time you are not a Death Eater, unlike your slimy old man. I leave you with G10,000 galleons. There might be more later, but that will come in the next section._

_"Narcissa Black Malfoy. We used to be much more friendly before you married aforementioned slimy git. Once again, you are blood. G10,000 galleons shall be given to you in this portion of the will. There will be more in the next section._

_"Bellatrix Black Lestrange. I absolutely LOATHE her. I know she isn't here, and as such I know that she can be disqualified from any inheritance. But in the spirit of family, and the Marauders, she shall have any cursed jewels and precious stones moved to her vault. These will be worth far more than the minimum G10,000 due to family upon passing of the Head of House. Don't want any invalidations due to technicalities. Nanny-nanny boo boo._

_"Minerva McGonagall. The Marauders love you, Minnie, and we know how much you love the quidditch cup. A trust of G100,000 shall be set up by Gringott's for the sole purpose of outfitting the Gryffindor Quidditch team. You made a big difference in Harry's life when you placed him on the team, and I appreciate it. The trust shall be managed by Gringott's and up to 1/2 of the principal may be used in any given year to outfit the Lions of Hogwarts. The remaining balance shall be invested by Gringott's, with a 10% commission on profits going to the goblin that manages this fund. Only the Head of House Gryffindor may authorize purchases and only Gringott's may make the purchases. I trust you, Minnie, but one never knows about the future. I'd rather keep any opportunity for future graft to a minimum. Sharpclaw will give you the parchment which contains the specifics. A copy will be sent by Gringott's to any new Head of House Gryffindor as they are appointed."_

Sharpclaw paused the playback to hand Minerva the details. She looked thrilled.

_"To the current Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement: I have set up an endowment fund to outfit the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic. As of this time, G5,000,000 has been added to this fund. Up to 1/4 of the principal may be used the first year and 1/10th the principal each following year. This must be authorized by the Director of the DMLE personally at Gringott's. Only two purchases per year may be made and Gringott's shall do the purchasing with a G1,000 commission going to the goblin that does the purchasing. Gringott's shall receive a 5% commission on the profits from the remaining portion of the fund, and the goblin that manages it shall receive 2%. I used to be an Auror and I know how important good equipment is for survival out there. Once again, by setting up the fund this way, I have attempted to preclude future graft. I don't trust the Ministry of Magic to handle the money directly and I DO trust the goblins. This is the best you are going to get. There is a stipulation that must be met. Each Auror receiving the benefits of this fund must pick up the purchases directly and must offer magical oath not to support Voldemort or whatever current Dark Lord is running about."_

Sharpclaw paused the recording once again and handed the paperwork to Amelia. She looked over it with a smile on her face.

_"And last, and least, for this section, Albus Dumbledore, former Chief of the Wizengamot, Former Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, Headmaster of Hogwarts on the run at the time of this Will, I leave you with the following: 30 sickles and the services of the nutter house elf Kreature. That's it. I'd free him and turn him over to you if I thought he'd survive it. I guess if Harry needs his services, you'll lose that. I should probably let you know that as I speak, information on your dealings are being delivered to the following places: the DMLE, the Daily Prophet, WWN, the Quibbler, the ICW, the government of EVERY member nation of the ICW, and the Head of the Goblin Nation._

_"Should anyone question why this is being done, I'm sure you will find out the details in tomorrow's newspapers. It should prove very enlightening._

_"As this is the end of this section, and there is no longer any need for Albus Dumbledore's presence, you can get out now."_ The image of Sirius looked positively vicious as Sharpclaw paused it again.

Albus Dumbledore looked up in shock. "I must protest; I must be here to help advise Harry on his inheritance. I AM his current magical guardian."

Sharpclaw hit the rune once more.

_"Sorry, Albus. I was Harry's magical guardian and I am now directing that Amelia Bones becomes his magical guardian as of this moment. So, once again: You are not needed anymore. Bye Bye. As an aside, it's pretty sad when the Headmaster of Hogwarts is less deserving of hearing the rest than Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. So get up now. If you don't, the goblins will help." _The image of Sirius blowing a raspberry at Dumbledore was iconic and Sharpclaw once again paused the playback.

Albus Dumbledore saw that it was pointless to protest further. Faces around the room were gobsmacked, outside of a small few. Harry and Hermione had satisfied looks. Draco and Narcissa Malfoy had smirks on their faces at the treatment the GREAT ALBUS DUMBLEDORE was receiving. They might not have agreed with their cousin, but both would admit at this point that he had style.

Severus just had a blank look on his face. There was obviously more happening than he knew.

Once the room had settled down, Sharpclaw got everyone's attention back on the proceedings. Once again, he pressed the rune on the side of the pensieve.

_"Okay. For the conditional ones. I will try to do these in the order that I feel best provides safety for Harry Potter-Black. Once you are called to leave, I will politely ask - well as politely as I can - and at that point you will be required to leave._

_"Firstly, the Weasley's. Bill, Charlie and the wonderful twins, this doesn't really apply to you, but I wanted you here to witness the result._

_"Arthur, Molly, Ron and Ginny. This is the conditional portion of my Will. If you follow the conditions forthcoming, you will receive the following: Arthur and Molly Weasley, G500,000; Ronald Weasley, G10,000 with G10,000 as bride-price in trust, season tickets for the Chudley Cannons for the next 10 years; Ginerva Weasley, G10,000 and G10,000 as dowry in trust. There is one condition. You must give magical oath to Harry Potter-Black and Hermione Jane Granger separately that you will not interfere with his life or choices and will not attempt to control them with potion, charm or curse, and that you will not aid Albus Dumbledore in d oing so either. I will remind you that Arthur and Ginny Weasley owe Harry a life debt. I ask that he relinquishes this debt upon receipt of the oath."_

Molly, Ron and Ginny all stood up screaming invectives at Sirius's image that was visible above the pensieve when Sharpclaw paused it.

Finally Molly was heard above the din. "I will not sit here and allow my or my family's motives to be called into question by an immature, irresponsible CRIMINAL." Ron and Ginny voiced agreement with her statements and Arthur had no objection, although he didn't say anything. Sharpclaw reached out and hit the rune again.

_"By now, you have either given oath or not. If you have, you can stay to the end. If not, sorry - it was a one time offer. You are now asked politely to leave. The boys mentioned first are free to stay or go; it's up to them. Just so you know, as his magical guardian I have cancelled en-masse all Marriage Contracts for Harry James Potter-Black. Any future contract must be approved by Harry, in blood, after a thorough check by a certified healer at Gringott's that he is under no control potions, spells, charms or curses."_

Sharpclaw paused the playback, and looked pointedly at the Weasley Matron. Her face, along with her daughter's, was a study in shock. They were not really prepared for that last bit. Albus had placed a contract on file that would automatically activate on Harry's 17th birthday or when he came of age. Because he didn't know about it, there was no chance that he would know to cancel it in time. However, this had now been bolloxed by Sirius and they would lose the G1,000,000 bride-price that was part of the contract.

The goblin guards started forward. Arthur took one look and began steering his wife and children out of the room. The twins decided they would stay, while Bill and Charlie decided they might need to help keep a lid on Ron and Ginny. Ron's face was red with fury as he was grabbed by Charlie and led out.

"Sorry about that, mate," Fred, or was it George, said. "I really can't believe they wouldn't give the damn oath. Do you want us to give you an oath? Cause we will if you want."

Harry sighed and shook his head. It really was too much to ask for, he guessed, to be able to trust the Weasleys again. At least the twins had apparently been on his side after all. "Nah, guys. You I trust. It's the rest of them that I have a problem with. I'll have to fill you in when I get a chance." The two twins nodded.

Sharpclaw touched the rune again to continue the playback.

_"Before we continue, Severus Snape must give oath that he will not reveal the information regarding the next two bequeaths outside of this room without the permission of the person involved, and to not act contrary to their interests in this. Otherwise, he must leave."_ Severus Snape looked over at Narcissa and Draco, and he knew that these would be the next two. It was very Slytherin of Sirius Black to do it this way. If they agreed to whatever he said, he would be prevented from telling the Dark Lord, even if he wanted to - which he did not. If they refused, they would give permission to tell the Dark Lord and their position would be more secure. He decided to give the oath. Once he finished, the playback was continued.

_"Okay, Draco Malfoy. If you agree to the conditions following this, you will receive to following: G500,000 galleons upon your 20th birthday or the defeat of Voldemort, whichever comes first, in addition to what has already been given. You must not take the Dark Mark willingly and you must not be found, under Veritaserum, to have willingly aided Voldemort. You can tell Voldemort's lackey, your father, or the half-blood lord idiot himself if that's what it takes that you were required to take oath not to take the Mark to receive your inheritance. Yes, Voldemort is a half-blood. Harry can explain and show you the proof if you want at some point. You can blame me. If you take oath to this effect, your mind will be protected from his learning of this. If you take oath, you must act as a spy as required and also take oath not to willingly betray Harry Potter-Black, Hermione Granger or their families. This is a hard and unfair choice for you to make. But this is the real world. Wrong choices will get you killed. I'd rather my cousin Cissa not lose her only son. I should tell you that if you refuse, I recommend to the current head that you to be severed from the Black family. You will have one month to decide. If you refuse, the money will go into the Auror Equipment trust. I ask that you leave the room, regardless of your choice or current thoughts so as to protect yourself and your mother from any spies."_ Draco left with a thoughtful look on his face, although he was still sneering a bit.

_"Cousin Narcissa. If you agree to the conditions following, you will receive: G1,000,000 in addition to what has already been given; 25% of the remaining jewels and precious stones from the Black Family Vault, and protection of the Black Family for yourself and your son, if he agrees to the offer made and he wants it. The conditions are as follows: You must give oath that you will not encourage your son to take the Dark Mark, you will refrain in any safe way to aid in the Death Eaters cause, and you will not willingly betray Harry Potter-Black, Hermione Granger, or their families. You have one month to decide. If you agree, Gringott's has instructions to aid you. If you do not take the oath, I recommend that the current Head of House Black annul your marriage and sever your tie to the Black family. Of course, you might ask him to annul your marriage anyway. Your choice. I now ask you to go to your son and get out of here. Once again, you might be being watched. Good luck, Cissa."_ Sharpclaw paused it again, and Narcissa left the room with a mask of an expression. She paused before she left the room and bowed toward Harry as her Head of House. Harry solemnly stood and bowed back. She looked at her sister in the room with some regret and left the room.

_"Okay, now that that is taken care of. Severus Snape. We never really got along, but that's more my fault than anyone else's. Even James wouldn't have done as many of the pranks against you if I hadn't goaded him. We were right prats to you and I wanted to set the apology in stone for how you were treated in school because of the Marauders."_ Snape's eyes grew wide at this._ "Now, I want your help. It isn't for me. It's to get rid of Voldemort and to help a friend who doesn't deserve the fate that was given him. Upon the completion of the conditions to be mentioned, I will provide am annual stipend of G10,000 for a salary to research a cure for lycanthropy. I have set up a fund similar to the Gryffindor Quidditch Fund (sorry, I was a Gryffindor, can't justify to myself helping the Slytherins, no offense) for research costs, up to G20,000 a year. G20,000 a year shall go to brewing wolfsbane potion as a charity grant. G10,000 shall go to the person or persons doing that brewing, separate from the money for research if it is the same Potions Master. Should a cure be found, half of the remaining funds in the trust will be given to the Potions Master who registers the cure and the other half shall be used to provide the cure to werewolves. The conditions are as follows: You must offer oath that you will not betray Harry Potter-Black to his death or the death of Hermione Granger or their families. I know you are a spy and I cannot ask for the oath that was requested of Narcissa and Draco, so I won't even try. You must also offer oath the help shield Harry Potter-Black from the manipulations of Albus Dumbledore to the best of your ability. Once again, you can't promise that you can stop him, only that you will try. And finally, once Voldemort is defeated, you will live your life as you see fit. Stop being under the control of a manipulative bastard if that's what you want. What do you say?"_ Sharpclaw paused the recording.

Severus thought about it for a few minutes. There was nothing in what Black asked that he really disagreed with. He didn't feel it was very Slytherin to perform the oath in front of the remaining witnesses however, and so he asked, "Must I decide now, or can I have time to think the offer over?"

Sharpclaw deferred to Harry. "You will have one month and two days to decided. I will not force you to give that oath without your knowing what decisions your godson and his mother make." Snape nodded his head to Harry with the smallest amount of respect and swept from the room. Sharpclaw tapped the pensieve.

_"Okay. At this point, I ask that everyone except Remus, Tonks, the twins if Harry agrees, Amelia, Hermione, and Harry himself leave the room. Secrecy is tantamount at this point. It's not that I don't trust you, but you have to earn Harry's trust on your own. The people left, I will not force."_

Sharpclaw paused it again. Andromeda Tonks hugged her daughter as Minerva McGonagall made her way to Harry. "I do not know, Mr. Potter-Black, any information as to where you are staying. I must warn you that there will probably be an Order guard waiting for you outside. I will not make any more statements or promises until I hear the information that was mentioned earlier. Does this satisfy you?" Harry nodded his head and hugged his Head of House. She left the room with a tear in her eye.

Andromeda Tonks made her way to Harry and bowed to him as her Head of House. He bowed back. He then received a massive hug. Ted shook his hand and the two made their way out. Sharpclaw continued with the last of the reading.

_"Okay, now for the last bit. The rest of this will include non-conditional stuff and the last of my comments._

_"Amelia, you have been pranked - kind of. As part of my Last Will and Testament, I, Sirius Orion Black, Current Head of the Noble House of Black, hereby emancipate Harry James Potter-Black and direct that all guardianships muggle and magical shall be released. Sharpclaw will submit the paperwork to the proper authorities and ensure that it is legal and above-board._

_"Harry, I know that you have had a hard life. It hasn't been easy dealing with your horrible relatives on one side and Dark Lord on the other with a manipulative old man in the middle. You need to live your own life on your own terms. If I know you, and I think I do, I know you will eventually beat that slimy snake and send him to Hell right where he deserves._

_"I recommend that you tell that beautiful witch sitting nearby exactly how you feel and stop being so noble about it. It isn't THAT attractive._

_"Hermione, and yes you're the witch I was referring to, you need to get out of your own head and tell the noble prat you're with exactly how you feel. Watching you two dance around has been almost painful._

_"Hermione, I am also leaving an additional G500,000 for you. I didn't want to let on earlier. Let the the others know what you want them to know, but if the remaining folks don't tell, no one will know._

_"Harry, Remus and Tonks have already given oath to support you in your fight with Voldemort and to help to do an end-run around Dumbledore as needed. You have to have some allies on your side and these two will make some good ones._

_"Everything that is left of the Noble House of Black, which is a considerable amount even AFTER the fees that will be paid to Gringott's for doing this are enough to allow you to do whatever you want for the rest of your life. Blow it if you want, hoard it, hide it, flaunt it. I don't care. You already got the girl, so you don't have to waste money on that. But spending money on a pretty witch isn't wasting money either._

_"Hermione, don't protest. You know it will make Harry happy to spoil you. You sensible bookworm types are all alike. I knew Lily and so I can predict how you will react. Just go with the flow. You'll be happier, trust me._

_"Well, this is Sirius Orion Black, Marauder Extraordinaire, signing off. Don't grieve too much, pup. I'll be hanging with my other best friend and pranking the angels or demons, no matter where I end up. Once a Marauder, always a Marauder. Drink a toast towards the Dog Star for me. And, Remus, I don't want to see you here anytime soon. Take the pink-haired girly on a date in some nice robes. You have the money. Trust me._

_"Love you pup. See you in a hundred years or so."_

The image of Sirius faded back into the pensieve and Harry finally grieved for the godfather he had lost.


	5. Immediate Repurcussions

Albus Dumbledore was flabbergasted by what he had just experienced.

Sirius Orion Black had destroyed months, no ... YEARS of his time by the instructions of his will. As he had waited for Harry to come out of Gringott's, he had seen the Weasley family sans the twins. He approached them and asked for a report of what had occurred.

Sirius Black, after assigning a different magical guardian, had also announced that he had cancelled all Marriage Contracts for his now-legal son, Harry James Potter-Black. This was entirely unacceptable. It seriously endangered the plans that he had made and the rewards that he had laid out for this faithful followers.

In addition, according the Arthur, no Marriage Contract would be accepted without a full scan to ensure there was no outside influence. Afterward, the Malfoys had come out of the bank, sneered in a superior manner toward him and then left. Severus soon followed.

From his report, there were additional conditions built in to the remaining clauses of the Will. He had been forced to give Oath to prevent disclosure. He could not find out what the conditions were if no one was allowed to say.

In addition, there was the mater of whatever Sirius Black had passed on to all and sundry regarding Albus's own actions. Some things could not be ALLOWED.

He would have to ensure he apprehended the boy and obliviated him before more of his grand plans were lost.

He had detailed Alastor, Severus, and Minerva - who had followed shortly on the heels of Severus - to catch the boy and, barring that, to follow discretely where he was transported to by his _shudder_ new magical guardian. He had to attempt to quash the reports that had been delivered. He would be very busy tonight with memory charms.

* * *

At the Burrow, the scene was one of utter chaos.

The Weasleys were arguing amongst each other as to who to blame and what to do. Percy had been called in after Bill and Charlie had left. The oldest two boys were not trusted to go along with the plan.

Bill worked for Gringott's and they had regular checks as to charms and potions, and Charlie was too far out of the picture regularly to be able to maintain the influence necessary.

Ginny wanted to know what could be done to ensure control of Harry Potter. She would NOT marry some poor wizard and live her life poor.

Ron had claimed the mudblood bitch a long time ago within the family. She would be used to advance his own position in society with her brains. At least Sirius had trusted her no more than he trusted the Weasleys. From what they had seen, besides the books she hadn't received any more than Ron or Ginny had. The loyalty potions should ensure she followed the lead of the Weasleys to not take any oath.

All knew how much Harry depended on Hermione. Where Hermione went, Harry was sure to follow.

The family would have to trust in Albus and the potions that had already been delivered. Molly made plans to make a fresh batch.

* * *

Bill and Charlie apparated in to the back room at their brothers' shop. Something was not right with the family.

The two knew of no reason why the other members of the family would not swear to the oath that Sirius had requested. Harry Potter was the wizarding world's best hope to defeat Voldemort and the other members of the family were all but avoiding committing to him.

They would learn the truth. They had been raised on Gryffindor values and they would follow them.

* * *

Andromeda was being held by her lovely husband of 23 years. Her loveable Gryffindor cousin had died, but had taken the steps needed to give her back her name.

No matter how much she told herself she didn't care, the loss of her birth name had always hurt. She didn't care for the money of or the pureblood ideology, but a name gave you a sense of belonging.

She, only now, could appreciate the full pain of what it meant the be an orphan. It wasn't the same thing, but recovering her family had highlighted the pain she had endured without one. She had been so used to it, she hadn't even noticed.

She would do anything to protect her family now.

* * *

The goblins stood back and watched the tableau of what was happening in wake of the Will of Sirius Black. This was not something they were unfamiliar with as all old Family Wills were probated through Gringott's.

They did not find it a sign of weakness when an attendee succumbed to grief in the end. It was a human thing, and in this one thing they did not begrudge wizards and witches this thoroughly human response.

Goblins felt grief of course. But goblins turned their grief into a weapon to be used in furtherance of conflict and the pursuit of profit. Humans were such strange creatures.

* * *

Amelia Bones looked on as Harry Potter - no, Harry Potter-BLACK - recovered from the emotional turmoil that was the result of the Will of Sirius Black.

Harry was being held by, what she understood from her niece, the girl that he depended on. Her Auror was also looking on, sitting with Remus Lupin, talking quietly. Those two made an odd pair, if only because the man was a werewolf.

The laws in place severely restricted werewolves and if Tonks became involved, her career advancement would be halted. Then again, with what had happened tonight, she really didn't need to advance in pay grade, did she?

The Weasley twins looked on, wondering what was wrong with their family. The whole responses didn't make any sense. They would have to think about it.

Amelia was anxious to talk to the young man about the letter she had received two days before. It had given her some bit of security knowing that her Susan would be taken to safety in the effect of a catastrophe. Her own shadow she had agreed to, although she found it quite a radical idea having an elf as a bodyguard.

She had talked over things with her own house elf and had learned some things that she had never known. Growing up in the wizarding world, some things were not inspected closely and one of those things was house elves.

How Harry Potter had learned of the abilities and limitations of elves and put them to an intelligent use as a muggle-raised wizard was frankly astounding. She knew that no death eater would even consider them a factor as she herself had never considered them a factor, and she was NOT a blood purist.

She would bide her time and wait to learn what she needed to know.

* * *

Harry finally calmed down after several minutes of letting his grief be felt. He found himself with his head against the chest of his best friend and he finally sat up. He quietly said his thanks to her. She replied, just as quietly, "Anytime, love."

He cleared his throat and said to Sharpclaw, "I apologize for my emotional outburst. This was the first moment that I have been able to confront this fully. I will not take up your time again as regards this."

Sharpclaw moved back toward the table from his conversation with the guards. "In this instance, no apology is necessary. Now, we have a few further items to discuss. Do you wish for those in the room to remain in attendance?"

"Yes. I trust all of them with my life, and they need to know what I know."

"Very well. In the personal Vault of Mr. Black, it was found that there was a certified copy of the Last Wills of your direct ancestors James Potter and Lilly Potter. These were turned over to my department and it was noted that these were not followed. The person guilty of this is one Albus Dumbledore. He was a witness for the Wills and as such he has not excuse for his actions. Would you like the Wills to be read or would you like copies sent to interested parties?"

"Can I look at them please?"

Sharpclaw handed two parchments to Harry and he began to look them over. As he read, he became more and more angry. His magic began to pulse out from him and the there was a cold wind apparent in the room. Those watching became nervous at the display. Hermione finally ran around and threw herself at Harry. "Harry! Calm down!"

The display of accidental magic suddenly stopped as his concentration on the Wills was broken. "Eh, sorry. I was getting a little carried away."

Amelia interrupted, "Well, Mr. Potter-Black, obviously there are things contained in their Wills that were upsetting. Can I review them to investigate any illegal actions?"

Harry slowly smiled. "That would be an excellent idea." He turned to Sharpclaw. "Can you make several copies of these and certify the copies? I would like a copy, I would like a copy to be placed in Hermione's vault with her permission, Remus needs a copy, a copy needs to be sent to Minerva McGonagall as well as Neville Longbottom, one for Madam Bones personally and one for the DMLE, one for Andromeda Tonks, which can be delivered by her daughter." He thought a moment. "I would also request, although he is not named in Wills, that in two days time a copy be sent to Rubeus Hagrid. Also, in two days time, I would like copies sent to Rita Skeeter at the Daily Prophet with my compliments, as well as Luna Lovegood for the Quibbler. I will pay an fee necessary for the several additional copies. Oh, and a one copy of each for the two red-heads here."

"The fee will be 1 galleon per copy and 1 galleon for delivery for those not named in the Wills except for the copies for the Ministry. Would you like the fee taken from your Potter vaults or your Black vault?"

"I would ask that you take it from the Potter trust vault. I would also ask that you removed all gold from the Potter Trust Vault and place it in the Potter Family Vault." Hermione looked at Harry with confusion. She had never heard that Harry had more than one vault. Little did she know, neither had he. "I would like to report that someone other than myself has apparent access to my Trust Vault. Molly Weasley used my vault to buy my school supplies in the last two years and I never actually gave her my key. I do not feel confident having anyone other than myself, and Hermione Granger, having access to that vault. Can it be re-keyed for a fee?"

Sharpclaw replied, "It can be done. An investigation of how the woman obtained a key shall be done and the cost for the service will be deducted from the guilty parties assets. In addition, penalties will be assessed for irregularities with the handling of the Wills of James and Lily Potter. Would you like us to proceed?"

"I would. And I ask that all information be forwarded to Amelia Bones at the DMLE. Once again, any fees required can be deducted from my family vault."

"Mr. Potter, I understand that you are willing to pay any reasonable fees for services that we perform. We will assume, in the future, that this is the case and we will forward records of fees taken up to G40, allowing you to contest any fee you disagree with. Any individual fees larger than that and any daily cumulative larger than G200 we will receive prior permission before taking. Is this acceptable?"

"Yes."

"Very well. Copies will be available shortly. Wait here." Sharpclaw moved off toward his office to make the copies ready. He appreciated the obvious respect that the wizard had shown to Gringott's and his willingness to pay reasonable fees, but the extra time taken by the constant offers began to grate on his nerves. Goblins preferred efficiency.

* * *

"Mr. Potter"

"Please, call me Harry."

"Please, in informal settings call me Amelia. Now, Harry, I would like to discuss the letter that I received from you the day before yesterday."

Harry smiled sheepishly as the others in the room looked interested. "Umm, about that ... I can't really say where I got the information."

Hermione asked, "What is this about?"

Harry looked to her and explained to the group as a whole. "A source close to one of my enemies has decided to aid me in passing along information that I will need to be aware of to keep myself and others safe. I cannot divulge the source as it would compromise his position, but I can offer Magical Oath as the the accuracy of the information. The source, by the nature of magic, cannot lie to me. He offered himself to my service and as a result, I can trust the information."

Hermione looked at Harry with a suspicious look. "Is this a house elf?"

Harry laughed at her. "No, actually. It is NOT in by any stretch of the imagination a house elf. I won't say more at this moment, but I promise full disclosure when it is safe. I DID hire Dobby as you know, and I hired Winky as well. Yes, Hermione love, I am paying them both, although Winky refused more than a galleon a month. I will have to work on that. Dobby accepted a galleon a week." He thought a moment before getting back on point. "Anyway, this source informed me that Voldemort was being guided to attack Amelia. I have placed Winky in position to take her to safety if Voldemort attacks. What most people don't know is that standard anti-apparition and anti-portkey charms don't work on house elves. As a result, Amelia is much safer than she could be. Her niece is also protected as Dobby has instructions to drop anything he's doing to take her to safety if he is called."

Harry turned to Amelia. "Amelia, do you have a house elf?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Can you instruct your house elf to take Dobby's place if called? It's not that I don't want Dobby to help if needed, but I would like to make his top priority Hermione, and then her parents, and THEN Susan. I figure I can take care of myself if needed, and if these are safe, Dobby can take me to safety as well. I'm a bit nervous about it as I will be staying with her for the rest of the summer and I do not wish to place her family in any more danger than they are in right now."

Amelia thought about it. "I can agree to that. The offer of the services of the elf were beyond what is needed anyway. Perhaps Winky can be reassigned to Susan and I can call an elf is needed."

Harry shook his head violently. "No! YOU are the primary target. In any fight, you will be attacked first. The shock of your disappearing will give Susan time to call for rescue if needed, and if it's at your home, your elf will probably anticipate the necessity first. If Voldemort is to be defeated, the Ministry MUST have a sane and rational Head of the DMLE."

All around the room, the audience took note of Harry's passion about this subject. Tonks turned toward her boss. "Umm, Amelia, I have to agree with him. It's good sound tactical thinking. It uses the resources available the most efficiently with the least likelihood of loss of life. I'd just agree now if I was you."

She sighed. "I will agree, Harry, if you agree to have a longer meeting at some point so that I can discuss a number of subjects that I am curious about."

"That's fine with me."

At that moment, Sharpclaw returned with the extra copies. He passed them around as requested. "When would you like to discuss the Wills, Mr. Potter?"

"Can I contact you in a few days time to arrange for it? It's been a long day and I'm getting knackered. I still have to settle in at Ms. Granger's house."

"That will be acceptable. I anticipate your message."

"Thank you, Sharpclaw. You have been a great aid to me and mine today. Can I ask my friend Dobby to take me from Gringott's directly or do I need to leave the bank first?"

"Wizard apparition does not work within the Gringott's wards."

"Dobby isn't exactly a wizard. He is a house elf in my employ."

Sharpclaw looked at him for a moment; the word "friend" had thrown him. "Very well, I will show you to the apparition point."

"Great! Thank you! Please let me make last arrangements here and I will follow you." He turned toward Amelia. "Madam Bones. I would like to make formal request that you escort Ms. Granger home in full view of witnesses in front of Gringott's. I do not want it known outside of those here and a couple of others where I am staying this summer. I also ask that you inform Madam Hopkirk that an adult wizard will be at Ms. Granger's house. I know that she tends to send warnings first without investigating. Would that be a problem?"

"No. I can do that. When would you like to have our discussion?"

"Can I invite you to dinner sometime later this week?"

"That would be fine. I look forward to it."

"Okay. Remus, Tonks, it was good to see you. I will be in touch. Please do what you can do deflect attention from Hermione's place as much as possible. Fred, George, please message me if there is anything I need to know from your family. I do NOT wanting anyone other than yourselves and possibly Bill and Charlie - but only in an emergency - to know where I can be located. I will also message you later this week as to when I can explain everthing"

The audience nodded. After polite farewells, all of the people in the office moved off toward their own path to their destinations.

* * *

A/N: Someone asked, what's the point of this chapter? Why don't they actually talk? Why don't they read the wills? This just seems like so much filler. And the reviewer had a point. So why not just progress further?

Honestly? Because I couldn't just put "And they all went home because it was getting late, met the parents, had a nap and then were horny so they played around." Remember, they started out at 10:30, got cleaned of love potions, got rid of Harry's Horcrux, sat through a very long will reading with all kinds of stuff happening, and sitting throught the "big reveal" would just take so long that Harry and Hermione would never be awake enough that night to DO anything. Harry hasn't even met the Granger's so they don't know him enough yet. That's gonna have to take some time. It wouldn't be polite to keep the daughter out past 9:30 sorting out all of the problems that still have to be covered when the parents don't know where she is.

So, what do you do when there is still so much to handle at the end of a big meeting? Take stock of where you are and make plans of where you're going. And that's what everyone is doing.

Sorry if this is too long of an Author's note, for some reason I thought it would have been obvious.


	6. Moving to Crawley

After Harry had made a small detour to prepare for some things, he asked Dobby to pop him into the a secluded area on the Grangers' property instead of inside their home. He didn't want the first impression he made to be someone who took liberties not given.

Harry thanked Dobby and Dobby popped off to visit Susan and check for any intruders or suspicious folks around, as well as to spend time with Winky. Harry inspected the house in front of him. It was, from appearance, a well-appointed home in an upscale neighborhood. He seemed to remember Hermione mentioning Crawley.

He nervously moved to the front door and hit the button.

* * *

Emma and Robert Granger were waiting for the arrival of the boy that their daughter had talked so much about in letters over the year and in conversations about over the holidays.

Hermione had arrived home about fifteen minutes earlier, escorted by the Director of Magical Law Enforcement. When they had heard that, they had been worried for a moment, until she explained that she had been present at the bank as well and had helped to get Hermione home. However, as soon as she got her to the door, she had made excuses that she had to be off to handle some thing. Apparently the wards that had been set up really did send other witches and wizards off quite quickly.

The man they had met and had talked to for a time had explained that he was an alternate version of their Hermione's Harry. He had asked for permission to set the wards and then had turned over instructions to Hermione on how to "key people in" as necessary. He had also explained that he had overpowered the wards and that only young Harry was sufficiently powerful to easily affect the wards. Anyone else would require help from more than one person.

Emma had noted that Hermione seemed different than she did when she left. She apparently was a bit tired from a long day, but Emma also noticed that her daughter seemed much more ... content that had been. She wanted to get her alone and quiz her, but didn't have a chance before Harry would arrive.

Suddenly, they heard the chime from someone at the front door. Hermione jumped up from her place in the sitting room and ran to the door and threw it open.

"Harry! I was expecting you to show up inside!" Emma noticed that Hermione had hugged Harry enthusiastically, even though she had just seen him a few minutes beforehand. This bore watching.

"Well, about that, I haven't been here before and I didn't want to seem rude and just pop in without permission. So I asked Dobby to get me here outside in a quiet spot."

"Well, I can see that I suppose," Hermione smiled at Harry as she dragged him inside to meet her parents. The boy looked fairly nervous. "These two are my parents, Robert and Emma Granger. Mum, Dad, this is Harry Potter."

Robert stood up and put his hand out, "Nice to meet you, Harry. I've heard a lot about you."

Harry smiled weakly. "All good I hope."

"Mostly," he replied slyly and then laughed. Hermione gave him a mock glare and Emma slapped his arm.

"Really, Robert! Be nice to the young man." She turned toward Harry and drew him into a brief embrace. "Nice to meet you, Harry. I assure you that you shouldn't listen to this lump; all reports we have had have been quite on the positive side."

Harry smiled back. "Thanks Mrs. Granger. I wanted to thank you for permission to stay over for the summer. It really helps me out a lot."

"Think nothing of it, Harry. Hermione, why don't you show Harry where he will be sleeping and then we will have dinner. The full tour after."

Hermione beamed at her parents and then took Harry up the stairs past the first floor to the second. "Well, we're up here." If Hermione had been looking at Harry at that moment, he would have seen a brilliant blush. "My bedroom is on this side of the hallway at the top of the stairs. Yours is the one right next door. Loo is across the hall. Originally, they were going to to put you in the guest bedroom on the first floor, next to the Master Bedroom. I convinced them that you would be more comfortable up here. Was I right?" She looked at Harry hopefully.

He smiled and said, "Really, it's quite brilliant. Thanks, Hermione." He kissed her on the cheek as he made his way inside.

He saw his trunk next to a large bed. In the room was a closet door, with a wardrobe on one side and a chest of drawers on the other. Who needed so much space for clothes? Beside the large bed were bedside cabinets with a lamp on each one. There was also a desk in the room with a chair next to it and in front of it. He decided he really liked the room. He took off his robes and laid them on the bed. This left him in shirt, trousers and shoes. Good enough.

He went back outside to find Hermione waiting with a dreamy smile on her face, before she snapped out of it and took him back down to meet the firing squad ... err, her father and mother.

Hermione wasn't really worried about her mother. They were quite close and Emma knew that Hermione was getting to the age where she would begin experimenting. Hermione's mother only hoped that her daughter would be careful.

Robert, who wasn't as blind as his wife and daughter believed, knew that putting the boy on the second floor, just a pebbles lob down the hall from their daughter was just asking for trouble. But Hermione had been so hopeful and excited at the visit that he couldn't bring himself to put his foot down. He had decided that he would take the time to get to know the boy in a friendly manner so that his threats ... that is to say, friendly warnings ... would have more effective results.

Robert would defer to his daughter's choices, but he wanted to make sure that Harry did as well. Then, as long as she wasn't hurt and she was happy, Robert wouldn't cause any more ruckus.

* * *

Dinner was a pleasant experience for Harry. The two adults and the two teenagers talked of Hogwarts and the classes the two took, as well as the Grangers' dental practice. Hermione had steered conversation away from controversial subjects until after dinner. Dinner had started late as the trip to Gringott's had lasted far longer than the two had expected, and as a result it was close to 7:30 before the meal was finished.

Hermione had then taken Harry on a tour of the house, showing him around the whole house, beginning with the rest of the second floor. The second floor consisted of three bedrooms, the bath for the top floor, and a storage room. Harry was admiring of the bedrooms, especially Hermione's. If he was honest with himself, he would have admitted that he wanted to spend more time in the room with the occupant.

The first floor had the Master Bedroom, with a small bedroom to the side of it, a den which acted as an office, and what Hermione described as her favorite room: a library. It apparently had been two smaller rooms that had been merged together. There was even a magical section in what used to be a walk-in closet which could be locked. Hermione explained that everyone in her family loved to read, and as a result the library had been built up over her whole childhood.

The ground floor several rooms. The sitting room was for more formal guests, such as those that were involved with the Grangers' business i.e. important clients, government inspectors, suppliers and those similar. The dining room was attached to this through double doors. The backyard and the stairs to the cellar were accessed through a small hallway that led from the entry parlor and between the two halves of ground floor. On the other side of the house was the kitchen, and in front of that was the larger family recreation room. This was for less formal guests and visiting family such as uncles, aunts and cousins. Hermione explained that there were a small number of more distant ones but they lived in the colonies and on the continent and the family didn't see them much.

When they reached the family room, Harry had found that the Hermione's parents had planted themselves in the room, waiting for the tour to end to talk about the day.

"So, Poppet, tell us about what happened today. Why were you invited to the bank?"

Harry looked to Hermione when her dad used the nickname and he was amused to see that she was a bit embarrassed as she said, "Dad! Not in front of my friend!" with her face in her hands covering a blush.

Harry laughed, "Don't worry, Hermione, I won't call you that and I think it's cute." The Grangers and Harry laughed at her mock glare that she gave Harry.

Finally, Mr. Granger got the conversation back on track. "So, as I said, what happened today at the bank?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and Harry wanted to know if they knew about Sirius and the Will Reading. Hermione saw his expression and gave him a look that explained she had told her mother, but her father didn't know everything. Harry wanted to know if he should explain, and Hermione indicated she would, with a resigned expression.

The Grangers watched the display of non-verbal communication with a growing sense of amazement. Robert decided right then that if they were already that close, it probably wouldn't do to threaten the boy too much, and Emma decided she wanted to get Hermione alone to have some girl talk.

Finally Hermione turned toward her parents. "Well, Dad, there are a few things that I hadn't mentioned because I was a bit distracted after learning what had happened with Harry and I was concentrating a bit on getting him here and what. You remember my explaining how Harry's godfather had passed away?" Her father nodded. "Well, the bank notice was the reading of his will. I, along with a number of others, was named in the will. I left early to help Harry as he had a number of things to do before the reading."

The two parents paused for a moment, before Emma asked Harry, "Was she helpful with what you had to do?"

Harry gave a smile toward Hermione filled with love and gratitude before answering Emma, "Actually, without her, I couldn't have gotten it done."

The two parents gave each other a brief look and then looked toward Harry for a further explanation. "Well, apparently my godfather made a condition of his will being executed that I had to have a full checkup for anything that might be affecting me negatively." The two looked interested. "Potions, curses, charms, other types of spells." They nodded in understanding. Harry looked briefly at Hermione and she indicated agreement. He turned back, "At the same time, I asked that Hermione be checked as she is my closest friend, and I felt that I had anything I didn't know about, she might as well. When we were checked, it was found that we were under the effect of some potions. I had a couple of loyalty potions, a mild love potion, and a few tracking charms." Harry looked to Hermione.

"A loyalty potion and also a mild love potion." The Grangers' faces took on an offended look.

"I know, I had the same reaction. You have to understand that the Headmaster of our school has kept me on a very tight leash. He has attempted to control where I live, what I know and when I know it, who I can spend time with outside of school, and much more."

The Grangers' looked confused and Emma asked, "Why would he do all of that?"

Harry looked at Hermione with an apologetic look. Hermione took on a slightly confused look which morphed into an expectant expression. Harry sighed. He explained to the Grangers, "Hermione hasn't heard this part yet. When it happened I was too upset to talk about it, and I was avoiding mentioning this to her as I wanted to protect her." Hermione took on a look of fond annoyance, which was more annoyed than fond. Harry looked at her with a sheepish and scared look, which was more scared than sheepish. Finally, his face took on a look of resignation.

"Did Hermione explain how my godfather died?"

Emma looked at Robert a moment with an expression before answering Harry with, "Well, she explained to both of us that he had died about 10 days ago, but she didn't explain all the details. She did tell me that he had died in a fight with the followers of that magical terrorist that attacked you as a baby." She looked to her husband with a small, sad smile, "She tells me more details at times because of the mother-daughter relationship. I tell tell you what you need to know as her father, which is most of it. But sometimes I get her to tell both of us at the same time because I want her to feel more comfortable telling you herself. We hadn't time yet to have her explain what happened totally." Robert grabbed his wife's hand and then leaned across the table to kiss Hermione on her forehead, letting them both know that it was okay. Hermione gave a tremulous smile to her father and a grateful look to her mother.

"Well, in a nutshell, it was really all my fault." Harry's face had a sad look, and Hermione began to look outraged.

"Harry James Potter! How DARE you? You did everything you knew how to do before going there and Sirius died protecting you, just the way he would have wanted! If you're going to blame someone, blame Voldemort! He's the one that caused all of this, NOT YOU!" Harry had a few tears leak out and Hermione hugged him as grieved again quietly.

As she held Harry, she explained to her parents, "Voldemort, the magical terrorist I explained before, had been sending visions to Harry all year, trying to get him to the Ministry of Magic. He, nor I when he told me about them, understood that this is what he was trying to do. Finally, Voldemort sent a vision to Harry that he had his godfather prisoner at the Ministry of Magic. We tried to verify it, but that awful toad I talked about interfered at every step. Finally, we outmaneuvered her and, after doing everything we could to check to see if it was true, Harry decided that he was going to go and try to save him. He has a saving people thing." She smiled fondly at the best friend that she still held in her hug. Harry smiled through his tears as he straightened up a bit. He then took over the story. Hermione's parents noticed that she never let go of him.

"I tried to go alone, but several people refused to let me. There were not adults that we could go to as the toad woman, a very accurate description, had every one cowed and too afraid to go against her. I should tell you that Hermione was the one that broke her evil rule at the school by tricking her into the forest and we got away with the help of a giant and some centaurs. She was brilliant." Harry gave Hermione a smile and she blushed in embarrassment and burrowed her head into his shoulder. He then continued, "As I said, several people refused to allow me to go alone. Hermione was one of them. Scared of flying as she is, she rode an invisible flying horse, well invisible for her, all the way from Scotland to London to make sure that I didn't have to face it alone. She's really one of the bravest people I know."

The Grangers, although looking nervous at the story, gave Hermione a look of pride at that last statement.

"Anyway, when we got there, we attempted to find out where Sirius was being held. Because of my visions, I thought it was a particular place, only we found out that I was being led around by the nose to the Hall of Prophesy." The Grangers looked questioning. "In the magical world, whenever there is a prophesy, a copy is sent to the Ministry of Magic. Anyway, we found that there was a recording of a prophesy which had my name on it, in addition to Voldemort's moniker of 'Dark Lord'. When it was pointed out to me, I grabbed it. Suddenly we were surrounded by the followers of the nutter.

"It was a trap. A trap that I fell into, despite Hermione's attempts to stop me." Hermione began to get annoyed again. "I know, I know, Hermione. We did try to verify it." He turned back to her parents. "That's why I was blaming myself. Anyway, suddenly we were surrounded. We learned that only someone named on a prophesy can physically take it from the shelf. That was the whole reason I was being sent visions, to get me to the room to grab the recording. It was our only bargaining chip as they didn't want it destroyed. We surprised them and fought back. The six of us against 12 of Voldemort's finest. Somehow, we were lucky and used the advantages we had.

"We battled our way through the Department of Mysteries, and incapacitated several. Hermione was hurt then." He looked down at his lap. "I almost gave up right then. I couldn't think, really. I could only go on when our friend Neville Longbottom checked and found you were alive, although hurt badly." Hermione gave him an extra squeeze. Harry finished explaining the battle up until Bellatrix learning that the prophesy had been destroyed.

"She was about to attack, and then several of the Headmaster's group showed up and began attacking the remaining death eaters. Sirius was fighting the crazy woman, who happened to be his cousin, and unfortunately he got distracted taunting her and she hit him with a spell. He fell through the Veil of Death." Once again, Harry paused to collect himself and Hermione tightened her hold on him. "I went kind of crazy."

"She tried to escape and I chased her. Finally I caught up with her and tried to use one of the worst curses in the magical world - the torture curse." Hermione took on a look of horror although she never let go of him. "Casting that at a person lands you in wizard prison, but at that point I didn't care. Didn't work though. She taunted me by explaining that righteous anger doesn't work. You have to want to torture someone, you have to mean it. I didn't quite have it in me." Hermione smiled at him with a sad smile and kissed his cheek.

Harry explained how Voldemort had shown up and then Dumbledore and how the two had fought. He explained how Voldemort had tried to possess him and how he had been expelled from Harry. He told of how the Minister had shown up and finally there were witnesses to what he had been saying all year.

"Then Dumbledore sent me back to Hogwarts with a portkey. I ended up in his office, locked in. I got upset and tried to get out. Dumbledore showed up and I was pissed. I trashed his office and he stood there and let me. He told me how I wasn't mad enough at him. After I calmed down a little and sat down, he explained that he knew that Voldemort was after the prophesy and that was why he had Professor Snape trying to teach me to protect my mind. He had never explained to me to the point why it was. As a matter of fact, he avoided me all year.

"He then explained to me that the person who heard the prophesy originally could show it, and that he was the one that heard it. A death eater had heard the first part and that was what sent Voldemort after me as a baby. This was the whole reason for everything, and he kept it from my until 30 minutes after I saw my godfather killed. It didn't matter that I'd been fighting with him pretty much my whole time since getting back into magical world at 11. Basically, it boils down to Voldemort or me. The only one can defeat Voldemort is me, and apparently I'm supposed to have 'the power he-knows-not'. The funny thing is that when it was spoken originally, it could have been Neville too. But I was the one that he marked with a scar, so it was me."

"That is why the Headmaster has spent the last 14 years trying to control me."

To say the Grangers were surprised would have been an understatement. There was so much information and it was obvious that Harry was trying to simplify it. But it did show them Harry's character and his ability to survive in the face of awesome odds.

"Hermione, don't get upset. Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger, I decided that I wasn't going to get my friends involved. It was too much of a burden. I wanted them to be kept safe, and I now knew I was the prime target for a Dark Lord." Hermione looked at him outraged. Harry sighed. "Yes, Hermione, I know how stupid that was now." Hermione's face took a look of fierce satisfaction.

"Anyway, imagine my surprise when I had been dumped back on Privet Drive once again, looking forward to another two months of people keeping things from me and enduring the 'affections' of my horrible, magic-hating relatives. I was going spare, until an alternate version of me showed up. You met him ... err, me ... older me ... okay that's just too confusing. You met the Traveler. He delivered the notice about the Will and Hermione's letter and offer and for the first time, things started looking up.

"Fast forward to the bank. The healers had noted some dark residue in my scar. The got a curse-breaker who told me he could take care of it. First, the healer also cleared what he THOUGHT was the residue of a magical block put on babies to prevent horrible accidental magic. He thought it wasn't working properly because my magical core seemed to be just fine. Imagine our surprise when the treatment released not one, but two fully functional magical blocks. It was much more painful than it could have been, because the healer hadn't approached as such. After a bit of pain and me passing out, I woke up feeling like I had gotten into a fight and my best friend was crying on my shoulder.

"They were going to put off the procedure, but I wanted it done. Once again, Hermione is the one that came through. The only way it could be done was to have her involved in the ritual so that she could keep my magical core stable. I made sure that she wasn't in any danger by doing it, and then I agreed after she told me she WAS helping me and I had no say in the matter." Harry smiled at Hermione and Hermione gave a watery smile back. "I needed her as only someone who loved me could help, even though she would feel a small portion of any pain I felt.

"After waking up again a bit after the ritual, I found out that I had a small piece of Voldemort's soul stuck in my scar and that is was now gone. I don't know how it worked - I'm sure Hermione here will research it," the Grangers laughed as Hermione blushed in embarrassment, "anyway, I don't know how it worked, but it was gone. The Will reading was enlightening."

Here Harry smirked a bit, and the Grangers were taken with how mischievous it looked. "Sirius had pretty much set up the will in such a way that I now know everyone I can trust and everyone I can't. He got me out from under Dumbledore's control legally and emancipated me. I am now able to live wherever I want, do magic as an adult and have control over my family's assets. It really was brilliant." He paused for a moment. "Hermione, you want to tell them what you got?"

Hermione looked to her parents and then nervously told them, "He gave me the whole family library in a Vault at Gringott's - it will take 7 days to get it there - and, well I don't know how to say this but ... 500,000 galleons."

Her parents faces went completely slack as they processed this. Finally Robert haltingly said, "That's ... unexpected. That's over 2,500,000 pounds."

Hermione nodded. She turned to Harry with a quizzical, although careful look. Harry nodded sheepishly. "I don't know exactly but it's in the 8-digit range."

Hermione's face became almost as shocked as her parents had been.

"I know. Yesterday I was wearing my cousin's hand-me-downs, without a pound in my pocket and all of my money in an apparently small trust vault at Gringott's. Today, I have over 1000 pounds in my pocket and instead of a few thousand galleons I have over 20 million. And I STILL don't know how much is in my family vault. That's just the Black inheritance."

Finally everyone had settled down. "So, Harry, what's your plans like?"

"To be perfectly honest, Mr. Granger, I don't have a clue. All of my thoughts were on getting me to this point. Besides needing to have a meeting with the Director of Magical Law Enforcement and Gringott's again sometime in the next week, all my plans revolve around two things. One is getting a good night sleep, cause I'm knackered." Everyone laughed at him, and even he chuckled. His face then took on a more serious, although calm, look.

"The other thing is to ask you for permission to court your daughter. My older self, who had beat his Dark Lord, explained that I could win if I had the support of my friends. Apparently, the power-he-knows-not is my ability to love. And I love your daughter. So, I'm asking now for permission to court your daughter before I do anything else."

Emma and Robert looked at the pair. Harry had a calm resolute face although he smiled at Hermione when he looked over and she had a nervous, hopeful look. She smiled back at him and he looked back at them with that same sense of calm.

The two looked at each other and laughed their heads off.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other quizzically before looking back at the parents. Hermione's face took on an irritated look, and Harry just grabbed her hand. Finally the two calmed down.

"Sorry about that. Actually, we were about to ask when the two of you had gotten married," Emma giggled. Harry and Hermione blushed at each other but were still confused. "I'm sorry, but we've been sitting her for an hour listening to your story and watching you two. Every glance you had for each other was like you were talking with your expressions. Every little change in mood, every little mental question, every little concern; it was like watching a couple that has been married for fifty years or more." The two took on a sheepish look and smiled at each other and blushed again. "There! You're doing it again!"

Mr. Granger voiced his agreement and then added, "It was funny that you were asking permission to court her when it seems you have been dating her for five years. I'm sure that there is more to talk over and more details to come out, but I can safely say that seeing you two I have no objections. I will say one thing, Harry. Hurt her and I use the straps on my dental chair." He really tried to be stern, but the laughter was still bubbling inside of him.

"Now, Harry, I can see you are quite done in. Tomorrow's Friday. Why don't you two relax tomorrow and Saturday we can get into the rest of the details and get everything sorted. How does that sound?"

Emma added, "Also, we can take you shopping." Hermione squealed in Harry's ear and he became nervous. Everyone laughed at him. "Anyway, get to bed. And by the way, since you are so close with our daughter, just call us Emma and Robert."

Harry stood as the everyone else did. Emma grabbed him in a hug reminiscent of Hermione's hugs. "We can see you make our daughter happy, so this is me telling you that we approve. Just no grandchildren for a few years."

Harry was a bit shocked and blushed. Hermione's face took on a look of, "I'll get you for that" toward her mother.

"Harry, why don't you go on up. I'll be up to make sure you're comfortable in a minute, okay?" Hermione asked him with a smile.

Harry smiled at her back. "Sure. See you in a few minutes."

He left the Grangers and walked out of the family room with Hermione watching him until the door closed behind him. She then turned toward her parents.

"Mum, Dad, I'm just going to come out and say it now. I plan on sleeping with Harry, just sleeping mind you, if he'll have me. There are no current plans to do anything else for the moment, but if things do happen it's because I want it to. You can see that Harry isn't someone to take advantage of me. Do either of you have a problem with this?" Hermione took on a look of confidence and calm.

Emma smile at her, while Robert had a resigned look. He could have seen this coming a mile away. He now knew that Harry wasn't the type to take advantage of their daughter, but his (formerly little and now quite grown up) daughter seemed to be perfectly willing to take advantage of the boy. He decided he would just let Emma do her mother thing in this and nodded his head at his wife.

Emma said, "I can't say I didn't expect it, especially after seeing you two tonight. We'll have to have a mother-daughter chat soon." The two hugged her and then she left quite proudly toward Harry and her future.


	7. Hedwig Returns, Confessions

Harry made his way to the bedroom that Hermione had shown him earlier. When he got there, he called out to Dobby.

"Mr. Harry Potter calls Dobby? What can Dobby do?" If nothing else, Dobby aimed to please.

"Hello, Dobby. I wanted to thank you for all of your help today." Dobby's eyes started shining wetly. "I wanted you to know where I was and to tell you that either tomorrow or Saturday I will be calling you to introduce you to Hermione's parents. Is that okay?" Dobby nodded his head enthusiastically. "Okay. Off you go back to Winky and Susan."

Dobby popped off back to his assignment, and Harry looked around the room. He decided he needed a shower first; it had been a strenuous day.

He picked up a towel and his personal items and made his way across the Hall. When he was finished, he went back and began putting away the things from his trunk. Suddenly he heard the shower from across the hall start up again and realized that Hermione probably had the same idea he had.

He could just imagine the way she looked with the water cascading off of those pleasant swells he had noticed beneath the linen shift, and the way her bum looked as she ... AAARGH.

It was then that he knew, good or bad, this would be a long summer.

* * *

Hermione, after informing her parents of her intention, decided to make a quick stop on the first floor to visit the library. There was a spell that she had noticed in one of her charms books that she wanted to review. Yes, there it was: Incantation, wand Movement. She copied the spell onto a piece of parchment. Harry would have to cast it as he now was considered an adult and could perform magic. She also read the notice that was at the bottom and decided she needed to make some time to brew up the potion mentioned. She had plans for the summer now.

As she reached the second floor, she heard the shower. As she imagined Harry naked in the shower, she wondered what would happen if she rushed her plans and showed up to share the shower. No, she decided, they weren't quite ready for that yet. But if she had her way, it would be very soon.

She decided that, like Harry, it had been a stressful day and a shower was a wonderful idea. She made her way to her room and changed into a silk robe that her mother had purchased for her during the previous holiday season.

When she finished with her shower, she made her way back to her room and decided that t-shirt and silk shorts were sufficient for night clothes, put the folded parchment in a book, put that in her robe pocket, and then made her way down the hall.

* * *

Harry was petting Hedwig. She had shown up as he was putting away his things. The last he had known, she was being "taken care of" (i.e. held prisoner) at Hogwarts by order of Dumbledore. He was exceedingly glad to see her and she apparently felt the same about him.

"Ah, girl, it's so good to see you. How did you get here? Did they let you go or did you escape?"

Hedwig took on a look of pride as she hooted at her human. "Guess that answers that question!" Harry laughed. He suddenly heard a knock at the door. He called out for whoever it was to come in.

Hermione came in to see the lovely man of her dreams petting his beautiful snowy white owl. "Harry! When did Hedwig get here?" Harry smiled at her.

"Apparently she escaped her captors and has made her way home. She was too smart to be held against her will, weren't you girl?"

Hedwig hooted in a haughty manner and the two laughed. Hermione's face took on a thoughtful look. "I wonder if she has any tracking charms on her. Harry, if I got the book which had the spell, can you do it?" Harry had a thoughtful look as he nodded his head.

Hermione took off back down to the library for the spell. She got the book which she had just had open a few minutes before and looked through a different portion. Finding what she needed, she decided to bring the whole book up to Harry's room.

She laid the open book on the chest of drawers and had Harry read the section. He grabbed his wand and looked it over. He then turned to Hedwig. "Okay, girl. I want to check to see if you have any tracking charms, is that okay?" Hedwig bobbed her head, and Harry began muttering the charm over the owl. A section of her leg shown a light blue.

"Harry, hit Hedwig with a finite." Harry did it and a disillusioned band suddenly appeared on her leg. Hedwig, at the same time, shook her head as though clearing her mind and then hooted angrily toward the window. Harry saw that she seemed to be irritated but it wasn't directed at either of the two teens. It was at this point he wished that he could speak owl.

"Apparently she's upset about something." Hedwig turned toward Harry and hooted loudly. "Was it something that that Dumbledore did?" Hedwig bobbed her head. "Was anyone else involved?" Hedwig shook her head. "Well, he's about to get his. He'll pay for it, girl." Hedwig bobbed her head and hooted and then moved to his shoulder and rubbed her face against Harry's. Hermione reached out and petted the snowy-owl as Harry took the band off of her leg. Hedwig turned her head and rubbed herself against Hermione's hand and Harry laughed. "I guess she likes you as much as I do." Hedwig hooted and bobbed her whole body.

"Hermione, I don't have her cage or a perch. We're going to have to take care of that." Hermione raced down the hall again and brought back the perch she had gotten after their first year, along with the water bowl and the bowl she had for owl treats. She had wanted a place for Harry's owl to rest when she delivered mail. It had been upsetting that year when Hedwig had never shown up. She was long over it, but she still had the perch and supplies.

Hermione set up the accoutrement near the window and then asked, "Hedwig, is this good enough for you?" Hedwig bobbed her head and then flew over to the perch and drank some water.

The two teenagers laughed as Hedwig preened on the perch. "Okay, girl. I'd like you to take this band out somewhere and drop it in some place away from here that Dumbledore would be sure to find it." Hedwig took the band in her claw and flew out the window.

The whiskered one had waved his stick at her and she had then started taking the letters her human sent to be looked at by the whiskered one before she was allowed to deliver them. She never remembered it afterward. Also, she remembered how she had felt comfortable staying at the large room with the other owls after the whiskered one had once again pointed his stick at her; she had come out of it just a couple of hours ago.

Although she didn't understand everything, she understood that the whiskered one would be searching for the little piece of leather, and she decided that she knew of a nice smelly place with a metal grate that the rats crawled into while she was hunting them. It was near the summer place where she was held prisoner with her human.

"Well, I'm too knackered to think about that more," Harry said with a huge yawn.

"Harry," Hermione began nervously, her confidence in her plan from earlier giving way to her insecurities, "I wanted to find out where we were with each other after what happened today."

Harry looked at her and smiled (a bit nervous himself), "Well, considering my older self said I should work on my own happiness, and Sirius was pretty adamant that I tell you how I feel, how about if I just say it: Hermione, I think I like you a lot more than just a best friend, I think I even love you. Would you be my girlfriend?" He looked at her with a hopeful expression.

Hermione threw herself into Harry's arms and kissed him with enthusiasm. After they broke it off for lack of air, she breathed out, "That's a yes."

"Brilliant!" Harry returned the kiss enthusiastically with one of his own. "Okay, we'll have to talk about this tomorrow. I REALLY need to get some sleep." Harry had yawned again.

Hermione looked at him with a hopeful look. "Do you mind if I join you? I would feel much better near you after today. My parents already know I planned on it."

Harry blushed heavily but nodded his head as he smiled at her shyly. He made his way to his bed as she went and closed the door to the room. She turned toward Harry seeing him watching her from the bed. She nervously took off her robe, showing the t-shirt and shorts beneath and his face took on a reverential look which added to her confidence. She made her way over to the bed and climbed in. After kissing Harry briefly, she snuggled into him.

Harry, for his part, had been a bit flabbergasted at the direction the conversation had turned. After asking Hermione to be his girlfriend, he had expected that they would talk it about it more the next day. When she pretty much told him she was joining him in bed, he felt his stomach flutter a bit. When she had taken off her robe and he saw the thin covering she had, he had been hard-pressed not to react too much. After she snuggled into him, he remembered how he had come to earlier at Gringott's with her twice, and decided that it was a pleasant way to wake up; there was no way he was going to object. He relaxed more and allowed the sands of Morpheus to take him as he held the beautiful girl that had claimed his heart.

* * *

Several hours later, Dumbledore made his way into his office. He had spent the last several hours in a futile attempt to retrieve the reports that had been sent out during his will reading. He would have to wait and see what was said before he could counter the bad propaganda.

On top of this, he had received reports from the Order members that had waited for Harry to exit the bank that he had not, in fact, ever left the bank. Ms. Granger had been escorted to her home by Madam Bones, and there was no sign of the boy. Waiting until an hour after the bank had closed, the Order had left leaving young Nymphadora to watch for a bit longer and report back. She had reported to Minerva that no indication that Harry left the bank occurred.

Severus had apparently been called back to the side of Tom. Convincing him to continue to goad Tom into attacking Madam Bones was a tricky prospect, but from all indications he had succeeded. He hoped that Tom moved soon, so that he could get the boy back under his control.

He once again inspected the shelf that contained the instruments he had used to monitor and control the boy. All but a very few had ceased working earlier in the day. As he looked at the shelf, he noted that there was one which was still working. The tracking charm on the weapon's familiar showed that it was out of the castle. He swore to himself as he remembered that he had forgotten to recast the confundus charm. He looked at the instrument and noted that the boy seemed to be once again on Privet Drive.

This could work in his favor. Obviously Madam Bones was unprepared to take him into her home and had returned him to his relatives' house. He would have to use this to get himself back into the boy's good graces. He would offer to take him over to the Weasleys where he could once again ensure that he was kept pliable and ignorant. Molly would ensure that he felt mothered, Arthur would help to convince the boy that whatever was published was codswallop, Ronald would distract him with childish pursuits, and young Ginerva would continue in her steps to seduce him and gain control of his family's resources.

He went to bed much more confident that he could get this situation under his control.

* * *

Severus Snape supplied the restorative that he had prepared in light of what had happened earlier in the day. As he administered the dosage to the reptilian looking form on the sickbed, he reflected briefly on the day's events.

As much as he loathed anyone with the Potter name, he had to admit to himself that the boy was not the easily-led cretin that he had thought him to be. He had held himself admirably at the reading of the will for that thrice-damned mutt. He had not reacted in an overly emotional manner when the family of red-headed menaces had refused to give their oath to support him, nor when Albus had been ejected.

He knew that the Weasley family, at least the two parents and the the youngest, was under the control of Albus Dumbledore. He had long followed Dumbledore as the best option to finally be rid of the evil menace he had tied himself to as a young man in his grief. He deeply regretted his teenage angst and had long ago wished that he had not taken up Lucius on the invitation to become a part of the movement that would "change the face of the wizarding world".

He had learned that it was not what he had joined to experience. After several exposures to the tender mercies of his "Master", he had realized the horrible mistake he had made. The casual treachery of the Dark Lord's word had cemented Severus Snape's desire to do whatever he could to see him destroyed.

The revelations at Gringott's had frankly amazed him. He had not been aware of the cunning that Black had held. He had assumed the mutt to be a typical Gryffindor: Stupid and impulsive. That he had somehow arranged to record an updated will, had arranged matters to reward those loyal, and had denied support to those that were questionable was the move of a consummate Slytherin in the truest sense of the word. He had unwillingly been impressed.

Yes, it was looking quite different for the unwilling pawn of two power-mad wizards. Events would determine if it was different enough.

* * *

Vernon Dursley had cursed his freak of a nephew all evening.

When he had returned from picking up his sister, he saw that the work required had been completed but the boy was not there. He had waited several hours to punish the evil spawn of hell, but he had never returned from wherever he had gotten himself to. He had had to explain to Marge that the boy, reprobate that he was, had begun to rebel more and that he would ensure that the punishment fit the crime.

Marge Dursley had agreed that as the spawn of bad seed that such things weren't uncommon although they were unfortunate. The coddling of such rebellion was the cause of so many ills in the society and that she was confident in his ability to handle the situation. She then offered to help supervise or deliver any punishments as Vernon's time was valuable as the bread-winner of the family. No Nancy-boy tactics would be an acceptable response for such horrible people.

Petunia Dursley agreed with the whatever the two said, although she had a twinge of regret. Regardless of how she felt about her nephew, he was related. She would follow her husband regardless, but she wouldn't always agree in her own mind.

Dudley Dursley remembered those dementoid thingies from a year earlier. He wasn't the quickest mind in the neighborhood, but he had some (very small) sense of gratitude for his freak of a cousin's actions. He did not particularly care what his father and aunt did, he just wanted to be kept out of it.

* * *

Emma quietly opened the door and saw the two teens lying in Harry's bed facing each other. Apparently they were still dressed, although they were quite close. Harry had his arms protectively about her daughter, and the look on her daughter's face, although not totally visible as it was buried in the boy's chest, looked quite relaxed and content. Harry himself looked far more happy in his slumber than she would have expected, given what he had apparently experienced. The two really did look good together.

She made her way over to the bed and adjusted the comforter that was on the bed. She wanted so much to kiss her daughter's forehead as she was wont to do, but she would not disturb the two that had been quite obviously done-in from whatever had happened earlier. She hadn't understood all of the explanations, but she would get details soon.

She contented herself with brushing the hair from her daughter's face so that she could see more of her expression in her sleep, smiled at the two teens, and made her way to her husband's company to tell him that his concerns, so far, apparently were unfounded.

* * *

Harry awoke in the middle of the night to find that he was wrapped around a very warm and very cuddly brown-eyed beauty.

He did a mental check of his surroundings and the sensations he was feeling. First he noted that there was a cooler breeze blowing in from the open window. It was unseasonably cool at the moment, although there were hopes that it would warm up within a very short time.

He then took stock of the physical sensations that he was feeling. Soft bed, check. Comfortable temperature under the coverlet, check. Firm bum pressed against his groin, ch ... oh, god was that a check. Apparently Hermione had shifted in the night. Soft handhold in the arm that was over Hermione ... she would kill him. When he realized what body part he had a hold up he had tensed, and then slowly let go and began to move his hand away from that location. Suddenly he heard a sleepy, but slightly annoyed voice which made him freeze again.

"Put that right back where it was; that was quite comfortable." He decided to listen to the voice that spoke in the same tones as his conscience and followed instructions. That it also followed the instructions of his teenage hormones mattered not one bit.

Hermione sighed happily and relaxed back to how she was when he had woken up. The fact that he was wide awake and he was having certain reactions against the bum pressed up against him seemed to not bother her at all. He finally decided to relax and just go with it. He lifted his head and pressed a kiss against the skin below Hermione's ear and then put his head back on the pillow as Hermione sighed happily again.

Hermione's voice came to him, not quite so sleepily, as she said, "I think this is the best sleep I've had since we started talking again after the whole Firebolt incident in third year."

Harry said, just as quietly, "I don't think I ever apologized enough for that. You were right and I was a right git about it."

Hermione felt a bit of moistness in her eyes as she contemplated his words and his sincerity. She concentrated on the happy feelings when it had been resolved rather than the pain from the incident itself. "I understood. But thanks." She paused, "How are you feeling?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I feel really good actually. The twinges from my scar are gone, and I don't feel like the brooding berk that I did just a couple of days ago."

Hermione turned over and looked at him in the dim light that was coming from the open window. When she felt his arm withdrawing as she turned, she grabbed it before it could get away and placed it on her hip so that his hand reached her bum. "You weren't a berk; you were the brooding sort, though I haven't seen it since the afternoon. Did all of that make so much of a difference?"

"Honestly?" Hermione nodded. "It made all the difference in the world. Ever since we got that bit of Voldemort out of me, I've been much more relaxed. I do have to say, thanks for your help in that ritual; couldn't have done it without you."

"You never have to thank me for that. I couldn't have borne not doing everything I could to help get rid of that."

"Well, it made a huge difference. Even before the actual removal, I could feel ... a connection with you. Once he put the first runes on both of us, I could feel your heart beating. Also, I could feel the pain that I got from the earlier step go away. It was a huge comfort to me," Harry admitted with a blush.

Hermione looked into his eyes. "Actually, I wasn't going to say anything, but I noticed something similar. After the Department of Mysteries, I had twinges in my chest from that curse. They were slowly going away but when the runes were put on and he said the incantation, all of the residual pain just ... went away." Hermione smiled up into Harry's face.

"Well, I guess we just healed each other," Harry smiled back.

"I guess we did."

"Hermione, I'm a guy and we make mistakes. In case I might forget to say it sometime, I do love you."

At that Hermione reached up with her lips and kissed Harry with enthusiasm. After it was done, she snuggled back down to his chest and replied, "I love you too, Harry."

The two drifted off to sleep, content with themselves and each other.

* * *

Early the next morning, Drigfang arrived at the paymaster to pick up the receipt for the payment to his vault for the ritual the day before. He looked over the receipt and asked in Gobbledygook, "I notice that there was an additional amount added. Can I ask for the reason, Noble Paymaster?"

The paymaster replied, "Unknown, Valiant Warrior. You must ask Clan Elder Sharpclaw."

"My thanks, Noble Paymaster. May your enemies' bodies fill your belly."

"May your vaults flow, Warrior."

Drigfang made his way to the office of the Clan Elder. He abased himself before the the more senior goblin. "You may rise."

"Clan Elder, I noted the increased amount for the ritual my squad participated in. Do I have you to thank for the beneficence?"

"In this case, no. The young walking-roast asked that all of those that participated be suitably rewarded." The Gobbledygook word for wizard did show the goblins' attitudes toward wizard-kind.

"Unusual, Clan Elder. I noted that he was much more polite than one hears about from those that use wands."

"He was. He also might not be one that needs a wand." The warrior's eye-ridges shot up. "Yes, he began to be upset in perusing a document that showed that his clan had been thwarted by treachery. It seems he is not a one to take such. I was most impressed."

"Was there anything disagreeable with him?"

"He talks too much and spends too much time in ritual customs."

"Does he spend time chattering about nonsense?"

"That wasn't it. He continued to offer payment of fees and human gestures of respect far beyond what was necessary. Though I do appreciate that at least it's in the effort of being polite using whatever customs, even those of the walking-roasts, I prefer efficiency."

"Well, I thank you for your time, Clan Elder. May your young grow fat on the meat of your enemies' bodies."

"May your enemies' bones make excellent kindling for your hearth, Valiant Warrior."

* * *

A/N: The goblin thing was going to be an Omake. But I decided to leave it in as it fit into the goblin culture of this AU. Not quite the same as the goblin culture of my other fics.


	8. First Headlines and Flashbacks

Harry woke again in the early morning hours. Once again, Hermione had turned over in the night. Once again, her bum was firmly planted against his morning glory. And once again, he found his hand had a hold of a pleasant portion of Hermione's anatomy. However, instead of tensing up as he had the night before, he decided to revel in the sensation.

He realized that the night before was the most refreshing sleep he had gotten, probably ever. Whether it was the result of what had happened the day before or the companionship he had had the night before, he didn't know. But whatever it was, he knew that Hermione had been instrumental.

Having showered the night before, Harry decided that he was clean enough to be going on with, and he slowly left the bed to dress in the quiet morning atmosphere. After his morning absolutions in the bathroom, he slowly made his way down to the first floor followed quietly by Crookshanks. He listened for any movement. Sensing that no one else was about yet, he made his way down to the kitchen on the ground floor.

He looked around and saw that one of the things in the kitchen was a clock. It was now 6:10 AM. That meant that he had slept, about 8 hours, outside of the time that he and Hermione had woken in the middle of the night.

He thought about it, and decided that he didn't know what time everyone awoke in the Granger household. If Hermione's school routine was anything to go by, Hermione would be waking up within the next half an hour or so. Then again, he couldn't assume. He decided to make his way back up to his room, and see about a morning wakeup for the pretty girl he had shared his bed with the night before.

* * *

Hermione woke up to the sensation of someone sitting on the bed next to her. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Harry sitting in front of her smiling. He leaned over and kissed her on her forehead. "Good morning."

She sighed happily and stretched a bit as she asked, "Good morning. What time is it?"

"It's around 6:20. What time does the house normally wake up, by the way?"

Harry saw her take a moment to get her mental processes under control. "Usually around 7 o'clock. My parents' office opens at 9, so they leave around 8:15 or so. What time did you wake up?"

"Around 6. Think your parents would appreciate breakfast?"

Hermione blushed lightly as she said, "I don't know. I tried before when I was younger, but was told to not try it again after I made a complete disaster of it." Harry chuckled as she smiled in embarrassment.

"Well, how about you get ready, and you can show me where everything is. I can even teach you the tricks of the trade."

Hermione looked at Harry's expression. He seemed quite eager to get on with it, so she got up, kissed him on the cheek and made her way back to her own room to get ready for the day.

* * *

Emma made her way down towards the first floor. Either her or Robert made breakfast while the other one dressed. After, the one dressed did the dishes while the other one prepared. It was an old routine which they had gotten used to over the years. Emma cooked better, while Robert tended to be more elaborate. Both tended to cheat when Hermione was home as she often helped with the dishes which meant that the one who was dressed got out of some of the work. Normally, they flipped an old one-pence piece for it. It was a fun game for them.

Emma made her way toward the kitchen door, but paused as she heard voices.

"Yeah, that's it. That's what you look for to know when to turn the it." "Like this?" "Yeah, that's just right. Now, watch this?" "Why do you do that?" "Let's me see hot it is - too hot and it gets burned." "That makes sense. How is it supposed to look?"

Emma smiled at the cheerful voices coming through the door. Obviously Hermione was learning something - she like learning anything and everything - and Harry was happy to teach. She shook her head as she remembered her attempts at teaching Hermione to cook. Words sprung to mind like "disaster", "fire-hazard", and other less pleasant ones.

Well, as breakfast seemed well in hand, she decided she'd get ready. Maybe Robert would appreciate some company in the shower.

* * *

After a breakfast that both of the Granger parents complimented the teens on thoroughly, the two dentists made their way out to their office. Shortly after they left, the Daily Prophet showed up.

_ **DUMBLEDORE'S FAILURES AS CHIEF WARLOCK** _

_It has come to this reporter's attention, that the late Sirius Black, subject of the most massive hunt in decades by the Ministry of Magic, died recently without ever receiving a trial. According to records obtained ..._

_ **HOGWARTS HEADMASTER HOODWINKS BOY-WHO-LIVED** _

_Has Harry Potter been being played for a fool by the very wizard who was supposed to be protecting him? Sources close to the Boy-Who-Lived have turned over information that shows that he never was made aware of his true position in our society. According the reports received ..._

_ **ARE OUR CHILDREN BEING PROTECTED?** _

_Hogwarts is supposed to be the safest place in wizarding Britain. However, according to reliable sources, there have been several instances that prove this to be a false claim. A Defense professor possessed by he-who-must-not-be-named, a basilisk that petrified students ..._

_ **TORTURE OF POTTER, OTHERS, LEFT UNCHECKED BY TEACHING STAFF** _

_According to reports by several parents and students, Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, spent her last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry using illegal methods to torture several students, including Harry Potter. One student, speaking on the condition of anonymity ..._

The two teens read over the stories and found that, unlike the Prophet's campaign of the year before, actually got most of the details right. There was nothing there that was particularly shocking, as the two had lived through most of it. But they were intrigued by the statement that more would be coming in the following days. Harry felt absolutely no desire to defend Dumbledore in the press. He looked forward to fanning the flames himself.

Harry and Hermione spent the morning relaxing and chatting about what was in the newspaper and a number of other things. After lunch, the two teens worked in their summer assignments, taking occasional breaks for a bit of snogging. Hermione decided on a new reward system which seemed to be most effective.

* * *

The next morning, the two teens once again got out of the same bed in the early hours, getting up to make breakfast for the adults. Harry was both anticipating and dreading the morning. The night before, after dinner, the four residents of the house talked and made plans for Saturday. Harry had plans to invite Amelia Bones over for dinner, as she had sent an owl asking for the interview she had mentioned. The Granger women had convinced Harry that it was time to shop for a new wardrobe. The gleaming eyes of both Emma and Hermione frankly scared him, no matter how much he longed to be rid of the cast offs from his obese cousin.

Before the group left for Harrods, the morning paper arrived. This time, all four sat around reading the news. Once again, the headlines were very interesting. One of them made Harry think back to the meeting with Sharpclaw before the will reading.

_Sharpclaw, after thanking Harry for his generosity, continued with the instructions left by Sirius Black. "Now, there are a few more steps to be taken before the reading. First, after having a medical check and removing all potions and monitoring charms, I have been directed to read you the following:"_

_Hello, pup. You're probably either confused or upset right about now. I know you haven't been exactly told everything that's been happening, but the nature of the checks should have clued you in._

_After spending several months with the Order of the Phoenix, several things that I learned and was previously not aware of started to make sense. I wondered at the stories of what you had been through since you were a kid. It got me to thinking about what happened after Peter betrayed your family and the Marauders; how I got chucked into Azkaban without a trial; how you ended up with your magic-hating muggle relatives; how, despite the wards at Hogwarts you ended up with several Defense teachers trying to kill you. After working out in my mind everything that happened, I came to one conclusion:_

_Dumbledore is using you._

_For some reason, Dumbledore has made your life far more miserable than it should have been. I remembered how eager you were to move in with me and decided that there were things about how you grew up that were just wrong. I noticed how you never wanted to tell stories about what you did as a child and sussed out that it wasn't the most pleasant environment._

_After talking to Moony about what you had experienced at Hogwarts, I decided to scout out what I could learn from the other Order members. Tonks told me of how she was forbidden from contacting her boss when she mentioned seeing things at your summer residence. Sorry to say, I played along a bit too much with Dumbledore's decisions. At first, it was because I thought that he was trustworthy, and then I did because I didn't want to end up obliviated or worse if I started questioning too loudly._

_At various times, I had occasion to chat with the Weasleys. I have to say, Molly and Arthur seemed a bit too much in Dumbledore's camp. I noticed how they never mentioned some of the more unpleasant facts that I learned from chatting with the twins. When I mentioned that I had heard they had to rescue you from behind bars during the summer after first year, Molly scoffed at the "exaggeration" and Arthur laughed it off as the twins' prankster nature. I acted as though I accepted what she said, but a Marauder learns to play with a poker face. Never let them see what you know._

_At Christmas time, you might have noticed that I seemed rather eager for you to be at Grimmauld with me, although I probably came off as a nutter yearning to recapture my youth with my best friend. That was deliberate. Yes, I would have much preferred you being at Grimmauld with me, but mostly because I began not trusting that you wouldn't be more manipulated when you went back to Hogwarts with the youngest spawn of Molly's._

_I had chance to chat with the two said spawn, and I noticed that Ginny couldn't help herself and talked about how she was looking forward to dating you after she showed you that she was a girl by dating other boys in front of you. To her, you're a knight-in-shining armor which should be under the willing command of a princess such as herself. The romantic nature of her speech seemed feigned, but the "under the command" portion seemed anything but. Truth be told, she scared me a bit on you behalf._

_The red-headed menace that called himself your best friend seemed quite jealous of the attention you receive, although he tried to hide the fact. When Hermione's name came up, the boy scoffed at the relationship that I saw between you and Hermione and basically said that she would end up as his. Once again, I was scared on behalf of both you and Hermione._

_Finally, I ducked the house on a day where all of the other Order members were distracted with other things, and decided that I would prepare for the worst. I planned on talking to you about these things during the summer, but realized that things happen. Since you're hearing this, things HAVE happened. Don't grieve too much. If I went out the way I want to, I was protecting you and Hermione and nothing would please me more except spending more time with you personally. I'm sorry it's not possible, but I think you will be able to move on with your life knowing that, though it grieves me to not be there for you, I know that you can find happiness with the pretty girl who seems so important to you._

_Before my will can be read, the following must be met: 1) You have to have been checked and cleared by a Gringott's certified healer for any potions used to control you. Hermione can be checked after the will, but it must be scheduled already and she has to agree to it. If she's with you, it's already been done. 2) This must be read to you at Gringott's. 3) Sharpclaw will perform a blood adoption ritual. He has the vial of my blood that's needed. In order for you to be properly protected, this must be done. If it's not, the Black estate will fall under the control of Lucius Malfoy and that must be avoided at all cost. I'm not trying to take the place of your parents - I'm just making you my son as well, in addition to already being the son of my heart._

_Now, you will learn a number of things I have planned with the Will, but trust me: I think you'll love it. When it's done, you'll know who you can trust. If the Weasley's prove trustworthy - and you'll know by the end of it - the instructions I have for Sharpclaw will take it into account. If they prove untrustworthy, just sit back and watch the show. Once a Marauder, always a Marauder._

_Now, one more thing: I had a copy of your parents' wills in my vault for backup. The one that they had mysteriously disappeared and I have since learned that Dumbledore had obtained it as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. So, as I know it hasn't been followed, we know who is to blame for it. After my Will, you will get a copy. I leave it to you to use the information as you see fit. It's not my place as it's not my Will. But my Will will set it up. Trust me. You'll like it._

_Okay, the next bit is coming in the reading._

_I solemnly swear I am up to no good. And I love you, pup._

_Your soon-to-be blood-father,_

_Sirius_

* * *

Harry thought about what Sirius had said as he read the headlines:

_ **POTTER RELATIVES KEPT HIM BEHIND BARS: What the Weasleys Knew About and Never Reported** _

_Per reports by two of the children of Arthur Weasley, Harry Potter was rescued from behind bars after his first year at Hogwarts. In August of 1992 ..._

_ **HARRY POTTER: SAVIOUR OR PAWN?** _

_It is well known that the Boy-Who-Lived befriended Ronald Weasley on the train to Hogwarts upon his return to the magical world. What isn't known, apparently, is why. According to ..._

_ **WHY SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPED AZKABAN: D** _ ** _eath Eater Lived in Hiding at Ministry Worker's Home_ **

_In a tell all letter from beyond the grave, Sirius Black explained in detail the impetus for his famous breakout from Azkaban Prison. In 1993, Cornelius Fudge visited Azkaban for an annual review. Black, a then-prisoner ..._

_ **DEATH EATER FOOLED DUMBLEDORE FOR ENTIRE YEAR, Polyjuice Stumps Supreme Mugwump** _

_According to several interviews, one of Albus Dumbledore's oldest friends is Alastor Moody, famed former-Auror. Moody was hired by Dumbledore in 1994 to take up the oft-vacant post of Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor at Hogwarts School ..._

* * *

A/N: Sorry of this seemed a bit forced. My must got away from me for a bit, but I refuse to wait too long between updates. I am trying to get away from recounting EVERY detail of EVERY day - makes for a very slow story. So, I decided to at least get the ball rolling on the Headlines that I promised and set up what happens with Amelia and the Weasleys. It's necessary for the plot. The next update will be longer and have much more detail that is relevant.


	9. Shopping and First Explorations

Hermione and Emma charged into Harrods with enthusiasm, Harry and Robert following much more sedately. The two men had found a camaraderie in their shared reticence in shopping. The more enthusiastic the women became, the more nervous the men. After Harry had handed Emma most of the thousand pounds he had brought from Gringott's, the two shared a nervous look as the two girls had marched toward the car chattering away about shirts and shorts.

When Harry had been called into the section containing men's underclothes, Robert saluted Harry briefly in the way that soldiers were sent off by comrades into a suicide mission. Somehow, when Robert himself had been called by Emma into the same section while Hermione dragged Harry toward shoes, Harry had returned the brief salute with the same sense of impending doom.

When Hermione had commented to Emma about shrinking charms, Harry had naively volunteered to follow Hermione's instructions as he could now legally perform magic. He soon realized that making purchases more portable meant that there was far more room for more shopping. After a quiet apology to Robert for his gaffe, Robert had just patted his arm with sympathy.

After a short lunch, and a trip for swimwear for Harry, Hermione and Emma had made their way into women's lingerie. Robert and Harry had taken one look at each other and then claimed a desire to go and shop in a different section. Robert didn't really want to see his daughter buying unmentionables to impress her boyfriend. Harry was far too embarrassed to stay and offer commentary on the different pieces, after already having been embarrassed by the two women forcing him to model swimwear.

The two women had looked at the expressions on the men's faces and smirked at each other for a moment. They agreed to meet them an hour later in front of the section for men's suits. Robert led Harry toward the elevators, ostensibly to take Harry to the Sports section on the fifth floor. In actuality, he took him to the bar on the fourth floor. When the bartender made a comment about his age, Robert explained that he was emancipated and had just spent several hours getting a wardrobe under the ministration of his girlfriend and her mother. The bartender looked at him sympathetically and served the beer without another comment.

The two commiserated over a couple of cold ones before taking breath mints and making their way back to where the two women were to meet up with them.

Later, Harry finally realized why one would need so much wardrobe space.

* * *

Harry, after napping in the car on the way back from shopping, had calmly explained that he would cook the meal for the evening as Madam Bones was his guest. Emma, after a silent conversation with Hermione, agreed and offered to unpack all of the shopping. Hermione had gleefully stated that she would be collecting all of his old clothes for a bonfire later that night in the barbecue pit in the back yard.

Robert had offered to be the kitchen boy and help with the menial tasks of preparing the dinner: Beef Wellington. It was an hour and a half job to do it right, but Harry decided that he wanted to impress everyone as cooking was something that he was quite familiar with. After cheating a bit by getting Dobby to bring the pastry, the rest of the preparation went by fairly smoothly. Robert promised to keep the secret of what was being prepared.

After the meal had been cooked, including preparing a light beef broth soup as a starter, preparing the added vegetables to go with the main course, the salad preparation, and making bread and butter pudding for afters, Robert watched the kitchen while Harry went and cleaned up. The two hade quite a time preventing the nosy female members of the household from finding out. Harry had distracted Hermione briefly while the meal was in the over asking for the notes on how to update the wards to allow access to certain people, but that was good only for a short respite.

Emma and Hermione had a quite enjoyable time chatting about male/female relations and Harry/Hermione specifically. After meeting him, Emma was fully supportive of Hermione's plans for summer and the two women giggled quite a bit while discussing things.

At 6:55, the door chime sounded, and Harry welcomed Amelia into the home. The next hour was spent chatting over the different courses, served by Winky at her insistence. Hermione began to object, but after Harry explained why Winky was around, Hermione just accepted it.

* * *

After the final course, Amelia sat back and said, "Harry, that was one of the best meals I have had in a long time." Comments from all of the others mirrored her sentiment. "Now, I would like to speak to you of some of the things that were mentioned and some of the things that weren't on Thursday last at Gringott's. Would you like to discuss it in private?"

Harry shook his head. "No, anything that has to do with me Hermione here will learn about either right then or shortly thereafter, as she is also involved as far as I, and she, are concerned." Hermione beamed at this. "And, since Hermione is involved, her parents have to be made aware of everything as well." Said parents smiled at the young man. "So, as far as I'm concerned, anything said to me can be said in front of everyone here. Let me just clean up and bit and ..."

Suddenly the used dishes were popping away left and right shortly all that was left was port and a tea service. "Well, as I was saying, why don't we get straight into it. And, THANK YOU WINKY!" Harry called off toward the kitchen. The others around the table chuckled.

"Now, Harry, have you been reading the Prophet from the last two days?" Harry nodded. "Can you substantiate any of the comments made?" Harry nodded again. "Would you be willing to testify in any criminal proceedings?" Harry looked to Hermione for a moment and then turned back and nodded once more. "Alright then, the first things I want to ask about is the Defense instructors. What can you tell me about ..."

For the next forty five minutes, Harry talked about his experiences with Quirrell, Lockhart, Crouch Jr., and Umbridge. He mentioned that Remus was the only one he had no problem with. When Harry showed Amelia the scar on his hand saying "I Must Not Tell Lies", she was very nearly apoplectic in her comments. The Grangers were right along with her. After settling down, Amelia asked her next question.

"During your second year, it was rumored that the Chamber of Secrets was opened. The Prophet made mention of a basilisk. Can you expound upon that?"

What followed was another 20 minutes explaining what had happened and the speculations around the castle. Hagrid's arrest was met with disgust, Dobby's part was met with a bit of humor, Hermione's petrification caused her parents to reach for her and then a call for Winky to bring the scotch from the den.

Finally Harry told of the sequence of events, beginning with the message about Ginny Weasley being taken. Lockhart's accident did cause a few chuckles - the idiot deserved what had happened. The conversation with the 16-year old Riddle was met with a bit of shock and the fight engendered a bit of trepidation. When Lucius Malfoy was mentioned, Amelia was once again stone faced, although Dobby's revenge broke the mood slightly.

Finally, Amelia pulled out a small metal bowl which looked like a smaller version of the pensieve in the Headmaster's office. "This is a solicitor's pensieve. It is much smaller than a normal one and can only hold one memory at a time. Another thing is that it will copy a memory, allowing a person to retain the memory for testimony while the memory is shown. Can you put the memory of the encounter in the bowl?"

Harry got a bit nervous at this. He had downplayed the size of the snake, and he knew Hermione would be a bit upset. The adults paused for a moment, wondering if he was hiding something about the encounter. He didn't seem like the type to play up what he had done, so they all wondered what the problem was. Hermione, however, knew that whatever he was nervous about meant that if Harry was nervous, he had left something out. She took on a slightly stern and expectant look and Harry sighed and agreed.

Amelia tapped the pensive with her wand, and the memory began playing. It started with Harry and Ron forcing Lockhart down the shaft in front of them. The visual of his threats was far more upsetting than the humorous story Harry had told. If the cave-in hadn't occurred, the adults would have cheered for the poetic justice of the backfire when he had obliviated himself.

As the scene played out, Hermione noticed Harry becoming more and more nervous. The large snakeskin had made her nervous as well - Harry hadn't really mentioned that the snake was so big. She failed to notice how old the snakeskin was as she was looking at Harry when it came up in the memory.

The finding of Ginny and the confrontation with Riddle was enlightening to Amelia. She hadn't known all of the details of Voldemort's identity. It was something that was speculated upon at the Ministry when it came up, but no one really thought about it.

When the image of Riddle began calling the snake, Harry mentally prepared for it. The image of the shadow of Fawkes ripping out the eyes of the basilisk caused him to close his eyes and start his countdown. 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

Suddenly there was a shriek, very close to his ear. "HARRY JAMES POTTER! YOU NEVER SAID IT WAS THAT BIG!" Harry flinched back a bit while looking at Hermione. She was obviously very upset at that moment and Harry was nervous about payback for keeping it from her. However, when he looked in her eyes, he saw the terror hiding behind her anger and he reached out and pulled her into a hug. As he did this, he looked up toward the adults. Amelia had paused the playback for a moment and all three adults were looking between him and the image of a 12-year old boy facing a 60-foot basilisk. Finally, Amelia almost diffidently tapped the bowl to continue the playback.

The scene played out with the audience in complete silence. When it was over, Harry excused himself and took Hermione into the hallway to calm her down. After a few minutes, Harry led Hermione back to the gathering and sat back down. Harry waited for the comments.

Amelia looked at the teenager. Finally, she said, "I think if I tried to look at every memory tonight, we'd be here until midnight or later. How about you just answer the questions for now and I'll ask for copies of the memories to look at later."

Harry nodded his head. "Probably a good idea."

"Now, I have to ask about the escape of Sirius Black."

Harry spent the next hour telling all about the rest of his Hogwarts experiences. Amelia asked for copied of different things, bottling each one up separately and labeling them after. Memories included the rescue from the Dursleys, the confrontation in the Shrieking Shack, the experience at the Quidditch Cup, the final task of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry's first detention, the confrontation with Malfoy which caused him to get suspended from the team, the attack upon Arthur Weasley, the confrontations the night of the Ministry battle, the prophesy, and what had been learned at Gringott's.

When all was said and done, Amelia thanked him for such a complete look at the truth behind the rumors and speculation. She mentioned possibly having questions after she viewed all of the memories and he assured her he would answer anything she wanted.

Before she left, Harry added one more thing. "I have some intelligence that I forgot to put in my letter to you."

"Go on."

"Voldemort has his followers at the Ministry pulling resources away from Azkaban. He has plans for another mass breakout. I humbly suggest investigating the possibility. Even if what I learned was wrong, there would be nothing wrong with checking it out."

She looked at him one more time and nodded her head. She thanked the Grangers for having her, and Harry for the fine dinner. She apparated out with Winky popping off after her once she had thanked him for letting her help with dinner.

Harry bade good night to the Granger family and made his way up to his room. It had been a very long day. After saying goodnight to her parents, Hermione followed him.

* * *

Amelia reflected on the dinner and conversation she had just been a party to.

Harry Potter had just proven that he was even awe inspiring than rumors had made him out to be. She remembered the stories from the Daily Prophet from the last year and reflected on the smear campaign he had been subject to. Between Rita Skeeter, Cornelius Fudge, Dolores Umbridge, Albus Dumbledore or a whole host of others, she was now firmly of the opinion that their best chance at defeating Voldemort lay with a 15-year old Hogwarts student. And that made her nervous.

It was time for the Ministry of Magic to do its job. And her job right now was investigating the claims made by Harry about Voldemort infiltrating the Ministry. He had given enough information that it actually could be followed up on.

* * *

Fawkes sat on his now-mundane perch and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle that the office of the Headmaster had become.

Twice now, Dumbledore had attempted to send a charmed letter to his new master. Both times, Fawkes had flamed out, waited about 5 minutes and flamed back in with the letter undelivered, acting confused and lost. Both times Dumbledore sighed and indicated some annoyance at his new master's former guardian.

The letter to his master's mate had been returned with the information that she had no information on the boy's whereabouts.

The red-headed humans had provided much of the entertainment for the red and gold phoenix. They had come to the whiskered one's office making loud complaints and apparently very upset about his new master's deceased guardian. The plans that had been made had been thoroughly trounced by his new master.

Fawkes had hidden his head under his wing as though annoyed at the loud noises, but in actuality fighting to not trill in amusement at the spectacle

* * *

Voldemort was lying in his sick bed.

After two more days of unconsciousness after whatever Potter had done, he finally was aware enough to get a report on what was happening with his followers. The progress at Azkaban was proceeding nicely. Within two weeks, Azkaban should be sufficiently weakened for a raid to be successful without too much loss of life.

In actual fact, he did not care about whether his followers lived or died - the only thing he cared about was the power he could demonstrate by razing the place.

Reports from Severus on the Order of the Phoenix were promising. Apparently, Dumbledore and his golden boy were at odds. This gave him satisfaction as it was always an advantageous thing when your enemies were at odds with each other. He charged his most intelligent follower to research ways to foment more discord between them.

He did notice that he no longer felt an echo from Potter. As he tried to push out with his mind, he felt no response whatsoever from the link that he had shared for the last 15 years. He was of two opinions on this. It would make it much harder to manipulate and terrorize the boy, but at the same time he would not be subject to any negative reactions if Potter found some way to use the link against him. There was always some bad with the good, he reflected.

After a while, though, he also noticed that the small amount of power he seemed to get from the link was also lost. In his arrogance, this factor he considered unimportant in the long run. Once the boy was dead, he would have lost the power trickle anyway. As long as the wizarding world was cowering in fear of him, he could research any number of things which would increase his power.

However, it might be to his advantage to find out why the link was gone.

* * *

The Weasleys were reeling from the stories that had come out in the Daily Prophet. Arthur was worried about how this would affect his position in the Ministry. He wasn't too worried as the main focus of the Minister of Magic was shoring up support. As he was a "small player" attacking him on Harry Potter's behalf wouldn't increase his support from the pureblood side, and there were far too many larger issues concentrating on one family would be considered a waste of his time in the eyes of the general public. They would have to just hunker down and ride out the storm.

Molly, however, was incensed. Anything which made her look bad was something that could not be accepted. She had sent a howler off to the Prophet demanding an apology for attacking their good name. She also was almost done with the next batch of potions. She would have to make sure they were sent to "the poor boy" as soon as possible. She couldn't give him a full course, as the potions had to be undetectable by the next summer, but by that time her daughter would have had the opportunity to convince him that she was the only girl for him. In addition, she needed to send some to the know-it-all which was far too close to Harry Potter for her liking. Luckily, there was no mention of her being controlled by potions in Sirius Black's will.

Ron Weasley was imagining having Hermione as his sex slave. His mother and Dumbledore had promised, and nothing would stand in his way of beating Harry Potter at something.

Ginny Weasley, however, was making contingency plans. She knew that her family and Dumbledore wanted Harry controlled, and if she ended up wealthy because of that it was fine in her book. At the same time, she knew that without the control of potions or spells, there was a good chance that that avenue was lost. Therefore, she was making a list as to possible alternatives. Neville Longbottom came from an old family with money, and he wasn't too disgusting. He was a klutz, but then again that would make him tractable. Justin Finch-Fletchly came from muggle money, but to her money was money. Ernie MacMillan's family was also fairly well off. One thing she decided: She would not be subservient in whatever relationship she ended up in. Just like her mother, she was going to be in control. That was one reason Draco Malfoy was low on her list, no matter how much money the Malfoys had.

The Weasley twins were putting together a report for their Chief Investor. Unlike their younger siblings, they had taken to the values that they had been told, not what their family actually practiced. Honor was important above all else, and as far as they were concerned, they owed their loyalty to Harry Potter. It did not bear mentioning that pranks came a close second. The fact that Harry had financed their joke shop meant that this wouldn't change their mind anytime soon.

* * *

Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were out on a date. They were supposed to be watching Privet Drive for any sign of Harry Potter. The fact that they knew Harry was nowhere close to Privet Drive made their job so much easier. They could accurately report that there was no sign of him.

Moony had finally, after much prompting from his pink-haired paramour, inspected the vault that was opened by the key that Sirius left for him. He wanted to give it back to Harry, but even he recognized that the cub would in no way, shape or form accept it. When he had opened the vault, he was shocked to learn that he was in control of an excess of 2,000,000 galleons. Even if he never worked again, and bought the Wolfsbane potion every month for the rest of his life, he could still support a wife and children.

Although the idea of children scared him, he realized he couldn't refuse the metamorphmagus that had finally convinced him that she didn't care if he was a big bad wolf. The turning point had been the night before when she had shown up to his place dressed as a grandmother with a scarf that proclaimed loudly, "EAT ME, PLEASE!". After blushing profusely, he decided that if he couldn't beat her, he'd join her.

* * *

Emma Granger lay in bed with her husband of 16 years and 7 months, contemplating what they had learned and witnessed earlier that evening. At one point, because of the boy's - no, the young man's reactions, she was wondering if her daughter only saw him through rose-colored glasses. And then she had actually seen one of the adventures that her daughter had told her about.

She had learned that instead of being less impressive than the story, it had actually been more impressive. And that had been hard to believe. She had noted his daughter's reaction when she had seen the creature that Harry had defeated at age 12 and knew at that point that no matter how impressive the stories were, they would likely be a pale comparison to fact. That Harry had not bragged more, even to his best friend, spoke of his lack of desire for being singled out for glory. As far as she was concerned, this was a good thing. Glory hounds tended to make mistakes and get themselves killed much easier than those that didn't want the glory. And with Hermione's nature, Harry would learn to think before he acted. And that was entirely a good thing.

Her husband had been just as impressed, and confessed that he would not in any way act the over-protective father. The boy had entirely won his approval and his only concern now was her happiness.

No, Emma mused, she wasn't worried about their relationship in the slightest. In fact, after discussions she had with Hermione while the men were cooking, she imagined that Harry was feeling quite nervous and overwhelmed just about now. In her mind, she cheered her daughter on right before she turned to her husband to engage in her own nighttime escapades.

* * *

At that same moment, Harry Potter was lying in bed watching his girlfriend walk toward him, quite nervous and quite overwhelmed.

When he had made his way up to his room to get ready for bed, Hermione had walked in his room, handed him a pair of green boxers, one of the robes that she and her mother had picked out and told him that he would be joining her in her room after he brushed his teeth and such. She had also made sure that he brought his wand.

As he had spent the last two days with her in his bed, he thought that this was only fair. He had petted Hedwig before she left to hunt for the evening and put on the things that she had given him. He paused, wondering if he should also grab a t-shirt, but decided that he would follow Hermione's instructions to the letter.

After his time getting ready, he had made his way down to her room to find that she was making her way to the loo to do her own preparations for bed. She told him to get in bed, and she would join him shortly.

So, he had taken off his robe and stood dressed only in the emerald green silk boxers that he had been told to wear, trying to once again decide if he should have brought a t-shirt. Finally, he placed his wand on the bedside table next to his glasses and got into bed to wait for her. He was overwhelmed by the scent of Hermione. It was obvious to his nose that this was her bed, and as a result his boxer shorts were becoming somewhat strained.

She shortly walked back into the room, carrying the clothes she had worn that day, once again dressed in a robe. She asked him if he could silence the door, and he nervously complied. Once that was done and she had dumped her clothes in the hamper, she had turned quite deliberately toward him and began taking off her robe. What he saw next he found to be quite overwhelming.

Below her robe, Hermione was NOT wearing the expected t-shirt and shorts that she had worn both of the previous nights. Instead, she was wearing a lacy black bra which left very little to the imagination and lacy black knickers which proved quite well that she spent time grooming around her bikini line.

Harry was quite overwhelmed at the site, as it was obvious that Hermione was quite prepared to show much more than he thought she was ready for just 5 minutes earlier.

*** LEMON STARTING ******

The site deleted it. I had no backup. It is gone with the wind.


	10. Saving the Bones

Harry awoke the next morning, feeling both happy and relaxed. The night before, Hermione had moved their relationship to the next level, and as far as Harry was concerned, it was quite brilliant.

As he lay in bed, he looked at his bushy-haired girlfriend and wondered how he had become so lucky to find her.

Harry decided that if he had any choice in the matter, this was who he wanted to spend his life with.

An hour later, the family sat around the breakfast table enjoying the fry-up that Harry had prepared. The women made many appreciative comments, while Robert made only a couple while attempting to suss out exactly how far Harry had gone with his daughter.

"Harry, have you ever played golf?"

* * *

Sunday was an enjoyable day all around for the current residents of the Granger household.

Harry had been introduced to the game of golf by Robert, who used the opportunity to grill - even if ever so lightly - Harry about his and Hermione's relationship. Harry had attempted to dodge the question, but had finally admitted to exploration with Hermione's instigation. He admitted to nervousness as he was terribly frightened of taking advantage of her.

For his part, Robert could see that Harry really had no clue. He decided that if things were as they appeared, Harry was worthy - if only barely - of his daughter's affections. He gave Harry his permission to allow things to progress, as long as it continued to be Hermione's decision. He explained to Harry that he trusted his daughter and her decisions. He also explained that he had always promised himself that his daughter's happiness came first, even if it conflicted with his desire to strap any young man that showed interest to his dental chair without the benefit of anesthetic.

Robert then asked if he had a dentist and offered to check out his teeth. At Harry's look of terror, Robert completely lost it. Harry sheepishly laughed in response and wondered aloud if Robert was perhaps having a little more fun than he was himself on this trip. Finally Robert clapped him on the shoulder and agreed that Harry had seen through his motives.

The two actually had quite a camaraderie by the time the outing was complete.

Emma and Hermione, in the meanwhile, were actually relieved to be left alone by the menfolk.

They had spent quite a bit of time chatting about Harry, relationships, Harry, sex, Harry, marriage, Harry, future plans and, oh of course, Harry.

Having the relationship they had, Hermione was quite forthcoming about their previous evening's activities. Emma was amazed at Harry's apparent natural ability to fond the sensitive spots on a woman's most intimate parts.

Somehow, by the end of their discussion, the two had ended up in a bookstore purchasing books on sensual massage and . Hermione was going to make Harry do homework. Somehow, she didn't think he would mind much.

When Harry and Robert finally made it back to the house, Hermione had made a great show of inspecting Harry for damage while mock glaring at her father. The family had quite a laugh about it.

They also had discussed the headlines of that day's Daily Prophet.

* * *

_ **POTTER WILL IGNORED BY SUPREME MUGWUMP** _

_ **According to a certified copy of the the Potter will received compliments of the Boy-Who-Lived, there are significant indications that Albus Dumbledore defied the written Last Wills of ...** _

** _GRINGOTT'S RESPONDS TO INQUIRIES_ **

** _In an unusual move, Gringott's Bank has made a statement in response to questions regarding the handling of the Potter Wills. According to a spokesman for Ragnok, Manager of Gringott's, Albus Dumbledore ..._ **

** _WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW? Conflict with You-Know-Who Quiet_ **

** _Since being seen at the Ministry of Magic over 2 1/2 weeks ago, there have been few reports of activity on the part of the Death Eaters, followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The question on everyone's mind is what plans ..._ **

* * *

Monday evening, the Order of the Phoenix met at Hogwarts. The Headmaster called the meeting to order.

"Remus, what can you tell me about Harry's relatives' house?"

Remus piped in with, "I'm sorry, Albus. Tonks and myself have looked for any indication of Harry's movements, and we have not seen any indications that he was there. But then again, we haven't seen any indications he was not there."

Arabella Figg added her two pence. "Petunia has not said much but there are indications that he is not there. According to neighborhood gossip, the boy has not been seen. Then again, he could be being isolated by the family. So there is no guarantee."

"Alastor, if you could, please go tomorrow and check to see if there are any indications that you could see using your splendid magical sight."

Moody gruffly replied, "Will do, Albus. If I see him there, what do you want me to do?" Moody was a little put off by the Headmaster's attempt at flattery. Although he was very satisfied with his magical eye, it also reminded him of old injuries he had sustained. Dumbledore was losing his smoothness for some reason.

"Please report back to me as soon as possible, should you find evidence either way." The Headmaster knew that his comment had been somewhat insensitive, but he was distracted with his weapon moving outside of his sphere of influence. He would have to work on calming himself more. He turned to Arthur. "Have you heard any word from young Harry?"

Arthur looked around at the others as he replied. "I haven't heard any indication from my children that Harry has been in touch." He turned to the Headmaster. "I can ask Ron to owl him if that would help."

Albus thought about this for a moment. "Perhaps a more indirect approach. We know of young Harry's friendship with Ms. Granger. Could you ask your children to invite her to the Burrow for some time this summer? Once she is there, she could possibly aid in contacting him."

Molly looked to Albus with a touch of enthusiasm, as this worked to her plan. Dumbledore nodded discretely to her. He then moved to his next subject.

"Kingsley, have we had any word on what the Ministry is doing in the face of Lord Voldemort's return?"

"A vote of no confidence is being discussed among the department heads. Fudge is likely on his way out. If another successful attack occurs, it would likely cause the end of the Fudge administration." Albus nodded his head in response.

"Severus, what reports do we have on Lord Voldemort and his followers?"

Snape replied is his silky voice. "The Dark Lord has finally become ambulant. I have been tasked with several potions for stamina and stability of his magic. He has confided that he no longer feels the connection with the brat." Severus had an image to maintain, after all. Minerva immediately chided him, although he did not respond to her.

McGonagall then added, "Can we use this to our advantage? If he has been weakened, this could aid in the fight against him."

Albus answered in his calm manner. "Yes, yes, quite. We all should consider this and make plans to be brought up in our next meeting. Severus, if you could continue monitoring?" Snape nodded his head with a blank look upon his face.

Albus needed Amelia Bones out of the way NOW. If was to regain control of young Harry Potter, he must not have allies in Ministry that he did not control. In addition, she was the strongest contender if Cornelius was dismissed. It would not do to have a Minister that was too popular.

Emmeline Vance then asked the question that many of those not within Dumbledore's inner circle wanted to ask. "Headmaster, if I may, what is happening with the headlines in the Daily Prophet? Many of the Ministry workers have had questions and I have not had the information to defend you against slur. Can you talk about it?"

Dumbledore almost growled before he calmed himself down. "I understand the problem. I assure you, everything that I have done has been for the Greater Good. Mr. Potter was placed with his relatives for his own safety as due to the sacrifice his mother made, there were no stronger protections that could be devised. Perhaps reminding people that young Harry survived to this day, despite attempts by Death Eaters and Voldemort to find him indicates the wisdom of my choice."

Emmeline nodded her head in agreement, seeing the point. She, like so many others, looked up to Dumbledore and was convinced of his near-infallibility. The questions she had because of the several articles were many, but she put her trust in Albus Dumbledore, until someone could convince her personally otherwise.

Amos Diggory decided to throw his hat into the ring. He had also read the Prophet and his fanatical loyalty to Dumbledore was being eroded by his common sense. His son had been killed, and he was starting to feel that Albus had more than a little part to answer for in the long run. However, he decided to keep this to himself. "Albus, I'm quite worried what effect this may have if Fudge is ousted. I trust you, you know that. But how will we overcome this in case we need control of the Wizengamot?"

Albus apparently took a moment to think this over, although he felt this would not be a worry once Amelia was eliminated. "You bring up a good point, Amos. Perhaps, should the vote go through, we should evaluate things at that time. By then, any number of things could change." Around the room, several heads were seen to nod in agreement. "Is there any other business?" No one replied. "Very well, I call this meeting to a close. Severus, please remain after."

Everyone made their way out of the Headmaster's office, except Snape who sat with a stoic expression. Minerva wanted to remain for this, as Severus was a colleague, but Dumbledore shook his head and she left.

"Severus, have you had opportunity to express concerns about Madam Bones?"

Snape shook his head. "The Dark Lord has only now begun to be aware enough to begin making plans again."

"I understand. We must distract the public from these slanderous reports in the Daily Prophet. There is no indication that young Harry is staying with her, so should she be attacked, he would not be harmed. We must get him back under our control for Voldemort to be ultimately defeated. I should hope that she has taken the warning to heart that she was sent, but I dare not call attention to myself further."

"Perhaps if I personally informed her of the possible danger?"

"No. I'm sorry, my boy. But we must not risk exposure. The previous warning must suffice. Sometimes sacrifices might be required."

Severus Snape nodded his head, and struggled to maintain his calm facade. He might not care about the woman personally, but he promised himself he would protect Harry Potter, spawn of his most loathsome enemy, regardless of how he personally reacted to the boy. He would have to work quickly.

"Very well. When reporting to Voldemort about this meeting, please launch the plan as we outlined."

* * *

Severus Snape had only a short time before he had to report back to his Lord.

"Mipsy!" The house elf assigned to him and who kept his secrets popped in before her Master.

"Master! How can Mipsy help you?"

"I need to ensure that this parchment makes its way to Harry Potter. Can you do that?"

The house elf nodded her head enthusiastically. She was always enthusiastic when she could help her Master. She took the letter and popped off.

Severus Snape waited as long as he could before making his way outside of the wards to go report to the Dark Lord.

When he made his way to the chamber his Master held court in and kneeled, Voldemort ordered, "Report!"

Severus kept his eyes lowered as he replied, "The Order of the Phoenix continues a watch and wait approach. Dumbledore has expressed concerns over a possible attack against Amelia Bones."

Voldemort looked intrigued. "Why is this a concern of the Order?"

"Madam Bones was named the brat's magical guardian by his deceased godfather's will."

"Approach and raise your sleeve!" Severus stood and moved to his Master. Voldemort took his wand and pressed it against his loyal servant's mark.

Within half an hour, the chamber was filled with what was left of his inner circle and several lower ranking members.

"My loyal followers! It is time to get back to the business of spreading terror! Bellatrix, I have need of you."

Bellatrix Lestrange bowed to her Lord and Master. "I am ready to serve."

"You will accompany me on a mission most important. Amelia Bones, blood traitor that she is, must be eliminated and quickly. Yaxley, you must make your way to the Ministry and distract the on-duty Aurors with a report of a possible sighting of ... Travers. Inform them that he is vulnerable. Report that he was seen in Ottery St Catchpole. Travers, make your way to the town and have a drink or two at a pub and then return here. There are several blood traitors in the area and so this would not seem suspect. Fenrir, you shall lead the attack force of giants that I wish to cause mayhem around the country. I shall attack Madam Bones at 2:00 AM. You should attack at the same time in ... Kent. It is not that far from where the Potter brat lived. I will tell you all now, I will take personal satisfaction on the filthy muggles that raised him. Therefore, there will be no attacks on his childhood home until I order it. Do you all understand?"

Around the room, all of the Death Eaters replied, "Yes, My Lord!"

"Fenrir, I will provide portkeys. Let loose for an hour and then return. Do you understand?"

The evil looking werewolf leered in anticipation of the planned destruction. "Yes, My Lord!"

"If this is timed correctly, this will distract the Ministry of Magic sufficiently for the next several weeks, allowing other operations to be successful. Severus, tomorrow inform your godson that his presence will be required soon. At 1:00, return to the muggle-loving fool so that your position is not compromised. Inform him at 1:50 about the attack in Kent and that you do not know of exactly where it is. He will take time to gather his forces which will give Fenrir time to leave. Tell him that you overheard the planning and that you were undetected when hearing this. I do not wish him to know that this is part of my plan."

Severus replied, "Yes, My Lord!"

"Tonight, we will announce the return of the terror of Lord Voldemort! I will warn you, should any of you fail me, the price will be significant."

The meeting broke up as the various Death Eaters made ready to do their part.

* * *

Harry and Hermione were making watching a movie when a strange house elf popped into the room.

Harry looked at the elf and said, "Hello. Can I help you?"

"Mipsy is here for a letter from her Master. It seemed quite important that the letter get to you right away." The house elf was bashful in the presence of a wizard and witch not her own.

"Thank you, Mipsy. Can you tell me who is your Master?"

"Master did not tell me I could say."

"Can I have the letter?" The house elf handed him the letter and he looked it over. His facial expression took on a most concerned look as he read it. "Thank you, Mipsy. You were wonderful. Please thank your Master when next you see him and tell him that I will ensure that things are handled." Mipsy blushed at the praise as she nodded her agreement to pass on the message before she popped off.

"Hermione, we have to talk to your parents. Please get them while I call Dobby." Hermione made her way to the upstairs library and den. "Dobby!"

Dobby popped in. "Yes Mr. Harry, Sir! How can Dobby help?"

"Please go to Amelia and ask permission for me to come to her; tell her it is urgent. Once she approves, come back and you will take me there after I talk to Hermione and her parents." Dobby nodded and popped off.

A couple of minutes later, the Grangers made their way to the room. "I'm sorry. But I received a letter that I MUST heed." He handed the letter to Hermione, who passed it on with a worried expression.

"Harry, what are you going to do?" was Hermione's response when all had read it.

"First, Emma, Robert, can I invite a friend here to get her out of the way of the attack? Amelia's niece is a friend and I want her out of the way." The two dentists nodded. "I will be going to Amelia and helping her to prepare." Hermione began to protest. "Hermione, I HAVE to. I was warned this would happen."

Hermione replied, "Fine. But I'm going with you."

The Grangers were becoming more nervous and were about to object when Harry cut them off. "Hermione, this time it would be much better if you stayed here. I am going to send Susan here with Winky. She will help protect Susan, you and your parents. Dobby will bring me back the moment it becomes dangerous. Amelia's house elf will take her to safety and Dobby will protect me." Hermione's eyes filled with tears.

"Hermione, I know I can't stop you from standing by my side in this war. But, in this once case, I need you here to look after Susan. It will keep Amelia from being distracted as well." Hermione nodded at the logic to it, as much as she hated it.

"I don't know how long I will be. It will be a very late night. Nothing may happen. The moment there is any indication that there is a problem, I will call Winky to let her know so you can be prepared in case I AM hurt. Can you brew up a couple of potions for the next couple of hours?" Hermione nodded her head in resolve. "Good. Susan can help also."

The Grangers looked at Harry in admiration for his planning and the fact that he was doing everything he could to Hermione away from the action without rejecting her help, which would crush her. Hermione was not happy but she would do her part. Harry saw her unhappiness and hugged her tightly.

Dobby popped back in. "Mr. Harry Potter Sir has permission to come to Ms. Amelia's and Ms. Susan's house."

"I know it's hard. But please don't worry. After you brew the potions, try to get some sleep. As I said, this is just a precaution. Oh, damn." Harry continued after Hermione's call of "Language!" "I have to update the wards to allow Susan and Amelia. I'm going to add Tonks and Remus as I will call them to help as well."

Hermione looked much more positive knowing Harry wasn't planning on doing it all himself.

After quickly updating the wards, Harry was hugged by Emma as Robert patted him on the back. Hermione gave him one of her massive hugs before he smiled at them and popped off with Dobby.

Emma and Robert looked at Hermione's worried face and each other. Time to distract Hermione. Emma asked her, "What can we do to help prepare to make the potions?"

Hermione's face took on a resolved look as she said, "Dad, help me bring down my trunk with my supplies. Mum, clear off counter space, the table and the stove."

Within ten minutes, Hermione had made her way back to the kitchen with Robert helping to carry all of her supplies. Hermione then had a thought and ran back upstairs to get all of Harry's supplies from his trunk as well.

As Hermione was setting up, Winky popped in with a hastily dressed Susan Bones. "Winky, thank you for helping. Susan, welcome to my house. These are my parents, Emma and Robert Granger."

Susan greeted Hermione and then turned to the Granger parents and with some nervousness said. "I wanted to thank you for letting me stay here."

Emma took the girl in a hug and said, "Any friend of Hermione's and Harry's is welcome. How long will you stay?"

Susan shook her head. "I don't know. My aunt said that tomorrow we will make additional plans. If the worst happens, I will become emancipated and Harry will be responsible for making sure I'm kept safe. He insisted and my aunt agreed."

The Grangers were shocked, although Hermione wasn't as surprised as her parents. Basically, Susan Bones would become Harry's responsibility if Amelia was killed. The trust shown in Harry by the Director of Magical Law Enforcement was staggering to the couple. They knew that Harry was admired by the wizarding world, but to be treated as an adult at 15 with all the responsibilities it implied showed that they had still underestimated the way he was viewed.

Hermione finally replied, "Well, you're welcome to stay as long as you need. You'll be in the third bedroom on the second floor. Winky? Can you help get whatever clothes and supplies Susan needs from her house?" Winky nodded enthusiastically and popped off, even as Hermione took Susan upstairs.

* * *

Harry, Amelia, Remus and Tonks were waiting to see if there was going to be an attack. They were all in the family room on various couches, in tense readiness. It was 1:55 in the morning. Remus and Tonks had just received patronus messages that there was going to be an attack in Kent. Harry had argued against them going as he had a feeling it was a diversion. Amelia had sent a message off to Shacklebolt to call in every off duty Auror to go and defend.

Earlier, when Harry had shown up, he had convinced Amelia to let Susan stay at Hermione's house. Susan wanted to stay and fight, being a member of Dumbledore's Army, but was finally convinced to allow Winky to take her away. Then the planning had begun.

_Flashback_

_Remus Lupin and Auror Nymphadora Tonks were sitting in the drawing room with Amelia, Harry and the two house elves after they had arrived by means of the floo._

_"Harry, Albus is having Alastor Moody check out the Dursley home to see if you are there tomorrow."_

_Harry thought about it. "Is there any way to use that?"_

_Remus shook his head pensively. "I don't know. With his magical eye, he'll be able to see through the house and see that you aren't there."_

_"I wish there was a way to prevent that."_

_Dobby started bouncing enthusiastically. "Dobby can help!"_

_All of the magical humans turned toward Dobby. Harry asked, "How can you help, Dobby?"_

_Dobby looked quite proud as he said, "House elf magic can be used to make house impervious to magical sight!"_

_The wizards and witches were astounded. Amelia commented, "The more I learn, the more I know how ridiculous it is to forget about other magics outside of wizard and witch magic."_

_Harry grinned at Dobby. "That's great! Can you make only certain rooms invisible to magical sight or only the whole house?"_

_Dobby thought a moment. "I can do certain areas. Usually we would perform the magic on the whole house."_

_"How long would it take?" His face took on a mischievous look. "Can you do anything other than make it invisible to magic sight?"_

_"Only a few moments!" He paused again. "House elves can make it invisible to magic sight or make it look a certain way when the magic is cast."_

_"Okay, Dobby. Here's what I want you to do. I want you to go to my old house and make my old bedroom invisible as well as the bathroom, kitchen and the hallways in between. I want it to look like I am trying to hide my presence there. Then I want you and Winky to put up every house elf ward you can on Hermione's house since I'm living there now. Ask her parents if you need permission from the house owner. Make sure you don't exhaust yourself too much. I still might need your help tonight and I don't want you to hurt yourselves. Once that's done, come back here and rest until called. Okay?"_

_Dobby nodded his head enthusiastically even as he proclaimed Harry Potter Sir as the greatest wizard for letting Dobby serve him. He then popped off to complete the assignment._

_Amelia looked at the spot that Dobby had stood. She turned to her own house elf. "Tipi? Can you also put up the same wards here?"_

_The Bones' house elf nodded her head vigorously. "Tipi can do."_

_"Please place every ward you can on the property." Tipi popped off to complete the order from her mistress._

_Amelia looked to Harry. "Is the attack happening tonight?"_

_Harry looked frustrated. "I don't know. I got the word that it would be discussed tonight. Remus, Tonks, do you know anything?"_

_Tonks replied, "We didn't hear anything in particular, but we do know that Albus kept Severus after the meeting tonight. They might have discussed it then."_

_Harry sighed. "That coincides with the report one of my sources sent to me. The source seemed sure that it would be soon."_

_Remus replied, "Well, it would be best to rest until the wards are attacked. Should we rest here, or in separate rooms?"_

_Amelia interjected, "I say we fort up in the family room. We can add individual wards on the room, in addition to the ones on the house. It would give us a couple of extra minutes in case of attack."_

_"Can you show me how to perform some of the spells? Since the cleansing ritual at Gringott's my magic seems to be much ... larger is the best word I can think of. If more power can help, I'd like to try."_

_The three adults began to show Harry the wand movements and incantations for several wards for a room and other proximity wards._

_End Flashback_

As the group chatted, the silence of the night was shattered with a large explosion in the front of the house.

The four defenders rushed toward the front of the house to see several Death Eaters attacking the wards, and worst of all, Voldemort himself was present.

Harry called to Dobby. "Okay, Dobby. Go tell the Grangers that there is an attack and then you and Tipi need to get ready to take us out of here if the wards are breached. Don't let yourself be seen. We will retreat to the family room if the outer wards come down and you'll take us from there. Okay?"

Amelia directed the rest to start throwing spells at the attacking Death Eaters. Tonks and Amelia began sending stunners out toward the attacking wizards. Remus joined in with other non-lethal jinxes.

Harry, however, did NOT send stunners. He carefully lined up and shouted out "Reducto!"

The others paused in shock as the curse impacted right in front of Voldemort, blowing him back as the debris from the stone in front of him was shattered in his direction.

The death eaters paused in shock as their Lord was attacked.

Amelia quickly said, "Harry, the rules of engagement ..."

Harry cut her off, "I learned at the Department of Mysteries that stunners only leave them opportunity to be revived and come back to the battle. This is VOLDEMORT. It is NOT time to play nice." The three nodded and began sending much more damaging curses and hexes toward the attacking death eaters. Cries of "Diffindo", "Reducto", "Expulso" and others replaced the stunners of the minute before.

The Death Eaters stopped attacking the wards directly and began attempting to send killing curses towards whoever was defending this house.

Amelia quickly told everyone to duck. Harry, from his position on the floor, cast a Duro charm on the wall in front of them. Suddenly the wall turned to stone, this stopping whatever portion of the killing curses that made it through the wards.

Amelia, Tonks and Remus were once again amazed at Harry's quick thinking. Harry was just thankful that Hermione had found the charm when they were looking over books just the day before while the Grangers were at work. When Harry remembered the graveyard and the effect of stone defending against the killing curse, the two had practiced the wand movements vigorously when they had come across it.

The four cautiously took a look and saw that Voldemort was enraged. The Death Eaters were quite terrified as he crucioed one of them. He then directed them to continue the attack. Harry once again started sending out lethal hexes and curses at the attackers along with the others. The Death Eaters were frantically trying to attack as Voldemort once again began attacking the wards directly. Unfortunately for the Death Eaters, they had to spend too much energy protecting themselves against the spells flying toward them. Their own spells were weakened considerably by the wards. Finally Voldemort seemed to be gathering his energy for one massive all-out attack on the wards. Harry took aim and sent an overpower Blasting Curse directly at Voldemort. As he had been gathering his energy, he used it now for a large shield that became visible in front of him. Voldemort still was knocked back a bit when the curse exploded against his shield.

Once again, everyone ducked as several killing curses flew toward the open windows.

When they had passed, Harry cautiously took a look out the window. The Death Eaters were looking toward Voldemort confused. Bellatrix Lestrange looked livid that her Lord and Master was being attacked and turned back toward the house getting ready to send more killing curses. Harry took aim again and sent a Diffindo which hit Bellatrix in her wand hand, slicing through the wand and causing blood to spurt from her damaged appendage. Finally Voldemort sent a killing curse himself as he rushed toward his loyal lieutenant. The defenders ducked again. Suddenly everything became quiet.

The defenders cautiously looked out the windows of the wall that had been turned to stone by Harry's earlier Duro charm, and saw that the Death Eaters and Voldemort had either apparated or portkeyed away.

The four collectively sighed as they realized they had effectively defended themselves against not just the Death Eaters but Voldemort himself.

Amelia finally said, "Well, Harry, your instincts were proven correct. Now I have to get to the Ministry to report this."

Harry answered, "I just acted upon the information I had the best I could."

"That may be true, but it was well done nonetheless. Tonks, you're with me."

Harry stopped her. "I suggest Remus report this to Dumbledore. As Tonks spends time with him and she is an Auror, it wouldn't be unusual for her to tell Remus. Make sure that Dumbledore doesn't know that I was here. We want him thinking that I'm still on Privet. Tonks should go to Privet and 'check on things'. Make sure whoever is watching from the Order sees you do it. Then go to the Ministry. Amelia, I suggest you get one of your Aurors to leak to the Prophet that Voldemort was driven away from your house by yourself and 'select other Aurors'. It will make him look bad, and deflect attention from who actually was here."

Remus began to grin as he said, "Now THAT is the son of a Marauder."

The group laughed. Dobby was called to take Harry back to the Grangers. Amelia and the others went their separate ways.

* * *

Harry was popped into the family room by Dobby. He was not that surprised to see the others in the house nervously awaiting word. When he showed up, the three women in room jumped up and almost smothered him in hugs, all of them trying to squeeze him at the same time. Robert just laughed in the background, relieved beyond words that his daughter's young man returned apparently uninjured and cheerful.

Finally Hermione said, "What happened? How is Amelia and the others?" The rest looked interested, especially Susan.

"Everyone is fine. I don't know what it was, but they were held out of the wards long enough that they had to retreat, especially after Bellatrix Lestrange was injured in the fight." Hermione and Susan were shocked; the Grangers just looked mildly interested. "Got her wand and wand hand caught with a cutting curse."

Hermione looked vastly relieved that all were well. "So, what's happening?"

"Amelia went to the Ministry, Remus is reporting to Dumbledore what he 'heard from Tonks', Tonks is misdirecting the Order as to my whereabouts and I am going to bed after a quick shower as I am quite knackered." The Grangers laughed at Harry's feeble attempt at humor, more because of the release of tension than it being funny at all.

The Grangers called their service to make sure an alternate dentist covered their morning appointments and went to bed. The teenagers, greatly relieved at the successful defense and the fact that none were hurt, went up to the second floor. Harry grabbed his toiletries as the girls just relaxed after so much tension was released. The girls were just saying goodnight as Harry came out of the bathroom in his robe. Susan bid them both a good evening and carefully noted that what Hermione had said earlier seemed to be true. Harry was going into her bedroom and not his own.

She would have so much to tell Hannah the next time she saw her.


	11. The Ignorant Scramble

Albus Dumbledore was incensed. Apoplectic. Enraged. In other words, Albus Dumbledore was not happy.

Having read in the paper that Amelia Bones had been attacked, he was disappointed to find that not only had she survived a direct attack upon her property by Tom Riddle, she was not even injured. When he had inquired as to what had happened, he had found that not only had she survived, she was completely unscathed.

He decided he had to investigate.

As he flooed to the Ministry of Magic, he was met with mass confusion. He quickly made his way to the DMLE.

"Ah, Auror Church. It's so good to see you. I was curious as to what you can tell me about last night."

"Hello, Headmaster. Sorry, it's a bit hectic. Last night there were attacks in Kent by Giants."

"Yes, yes. Some of my friends responded to the attack. Can you tell me what happened fully?"

"Well, last night we got word right before two in the morning that there were Giants. Unfortunately, the call came right after a few of the on-duty Aurors were off checking a report of a Death Eater in Ottery St Catchpole. There are a few Ministry employees that live in the area, so the report was considered a higher priority.

"When the call came in about Kent, every Auror that could be contacted was sent to Kent to help fight off the attacks. The Giants were laying about, attacking automobiles, buildings, bridges, and every muggle they could get their hands on."

"Oh, yes. Quite unfortunate. Was Amelia involved in that?"

"Actually, she's the one who sent the report to us. Seems she got a tip from someone. Anyway, she was attacked separately by you-know-who."

"Do you know of the result of that attack?"

"Apparently she had a couple of other Aurors with her. I also heard," and here Auror Church looked around to make sure they weren't overheard, "Harry Potter was involved."

Dumbledore masked his irritation. He knew Harry was involved somehow; Harry was involved with everything. What he didn't know was where Harry was. He would have to contact Alastor to find out if he had inspected Privet yet.

* * *

The people in the house slept until late in the morning. It had been a long night for Harry. After he and Hermione had gone to bed, he had to spend an additional hour consoling her about not having been present, even though it had all worked out. He was coming more and more to realize that she refused to stay behind again. He would have to talk to Robert and Emma about it.

Susan had awoken to find the Bones' house elf standing next to her bed with a letter. Thanking Tipi, she took it and began to read.

_"Dear Susan,_

_"As Harry probably told you last night, all is well with me and no one was hurt in the attack. If you're still worried, don't be. I am now surrounded by a large number of off-duty Aurors who refuse to let me go anywhere without 6 bodyguards._

_"Something you should learn when you have people who work for you: The boss works just as much or more for his underlings. When they agree on things, it is very hard to say no. The only reason that you are not surrounded by an additional 4 Aurors yourself is that you are under Harry's protection when you are not with me. My people agreed that he was more than sufficient to make sure that you were protected. Especially after they weaseled out of me that he had been at the house last night and was the one that had actually driven Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange off._

_"Unfortunately, Bones Manor was damaged a bit in the attack. Much better it was the house than the people, though._

_"So, until things are settled down over the attacks last night (there was also an attack in Kent) you will stay with him. I have written a letter to him as well, letting him know what is happening. Besides, I am sure that between you, his friend Hermione and yourself, you can find sufficient things to keep you amused. See if Harry will invite Hannah Abbott over as well. Then again, with three against one, he might not be TOO keen on that._

_"I will regularly have Tipi take messages back and forth between us to make sure you know what is happening._

_"Keep safe and I love you._

_"Aunt Amelia"_

Once she did her morning routine, Susan made her way down to the ground floor to see about getting something to eat. The scene she came across, she had to admit, was vastly amusing.

Hermione and her parents were sitting at the table watching Harry and two house elves argue about who was supposed to be cooking. Harry apparently was attempting to make lunch for all the residents, but Winky, his female house elf, was adamant about doing it herself. The male house elf, Dobby, was rushing around doing all of the small jobs that were necessary for making a meal while the two were distracted.

Finally Harry bowed to Winky and presented her with the spatula and then made his way over to the table. Hermione's commented as he sat down , "Are you sure that you can't convince her to let you or mum do it?"

Harry looked at her incredulously and said, "Be my guest and give it a try," and then pointed Hermione toward a smugly satisfied house elf.

Hermione looked at Winky and said, "No. It's alright. I'll take your word for it."

The Grangers and Susan laughed. Harry was grinning at her and Hermione's face was a bit sheepish.

As the group chatted, an owl delivering the Daily Prophet came in the window. They gathered round to see what was said in the paper.

** _GIANTS ATTACK IN KENT: Ministry Obliviaters Out in Force_ **

** _Early this morning, in Kent England, muggles found themselves face to face with giants attacking homes and structures with apparent zeal. The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge was damaged significantly, and only by the heroic efforts of several witches and wizards were no muggles killed when it collapsed. A spokesman for the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee on hand had this to say: ..._ **

** _DIRECTOR OF DMLE SURVIVES ATTACK FROM HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED_ **

** _Anonymous sources from within the Ministry confirm that Amelia Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was attacked at her home early this morning. She, along with other unnamed Aurors, were involved in ..._ **

** _IS FUDGE THE MINISTER WE NEED?_ **

** _Several members of the Wizengamot have gone on record to ask if Cornelius Fudge, embattled Minister of Magic, has the necessary skills to lead in the fight against the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord that leads them. Readers might recall ..._ **

* * *

By the end of lunch, plans had been made for the rest of the day as well as for later in the week.

Harry had sent Hedwig off to Gringott's to arrange to complete the review and paperwork on his parents' wills. Robert and Emma had agreed to go with him on Friday to offer advice. Susan was invited along if she was still around, as well as Hannah if she was visiting. Emma and Robert were thrilled to host more friends, regardless of the reasons.

The two dentists had also brought up their annual vacation that was planned for later in the month. Since Hermione was an only child, the two made sure that three weeks each summer were devoted to spending time with her. This had been the case since she was a very young girl. They had planned on visiting the continent, but they felt that it was too close to the troubles of the UK.

As a result, the plans had changed to a trip across the pond. The Granger parents were planning on a road trip from Niagra Falls in New York, west through several states and then north through portions of Michigan, cross over to Canada, which was a part of the commonwealth they had never visited, east back to Niagra Falls and then to spend the last week in New York City proper seeing the sights.

Admittedly it was ambitious, but it was far different from what they were used to, and as a vacation that was always the goal - have fun while experiencing new things.

Harry was enthusiastic to see things that he had not seen before and to him, it sounded quite brilliant. He agreed to ask Gringott's about getting a passport.

After the Grangers left to work for the afternoon, the three teenagers spent the time working on the rest of their summer homework. Susan admitted that she had not finished all of her work on Potions and Transfiguration, and Hermione volunteered to help her with some of it. They also spent a portion of the time walking around Hermione's neighborhood, seeing the area she had grown up in. The park, Harry noted, was much nicer than the one in Little Whinging.

After dinner, Harry and Susan were introduced to Star Wars. Needless to say, Harry felt a lot of empathy for Luke Skywalker.

* * *

Tom Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort, AKA He-Who-Must-Be-Named, AKA You-Know-Who, made ready for his followers presence. Using Wormtail's Dark Mark, the call went out.

Very shortly the Death Eaters were quietly kneeling in front of their Lord who sat upon his throne in a most stoic manner, not looking at any one of them.

When the last of his followers arrived, he instructed them to remove their masks. When that was done, he said very quietly, "I have been betrayed."

Gasps could be heard around the room.

"Early this morning, plans were made to alleviate a major obstacle to my achieving ultimate power. Plans were made which should have resulted in the death of this obstacle. My most vicious lieutenant, however, was injured. I was thwarted. And why, you may ask?"

He coldly looked around the room. He saw the outrage on their faces. He saw the mild look of revulsion on the face of Severus Snape and assumed that the idea of betrayal was repugnant to him. He then saw a death eater who was nervous. Ahhh, time for an example.

"Somehow they were warned. Somehow preparations were made which prevented me from my goal. This is unacceptable." He paused once again, before calling out, "CRUCIO!" The Death Eater in the back of the room started convulsing under the pain of the curse. The others assumed that Voldemort was punishing the guilty party.

After a minute, Voldemort released the man from the curse. "There is a lesson to be learned. The lesson is thus: Betrayal will bring repercussions. Avada Kadavra!" Voldemort looked over his followers, seeing them properly cowed at the demonstration. "Get that thing out of my sight. Know that I am displeased and that is the price of my displeasure. Soon you will be called again, and I would expect that you will all ensure that I am not displeased when the next operations are begun. Now, leave me! Except Severus. I have a task for you." Two other low level lackies grabbed the body and took it out to the garbage trench. The rest of the Death Eaters put their masks back on and respectfully backed out of the room before making haste to get away before it was decided that they needed punishment.

Voldemort was quite aware that it was highly unlikely that there had actually be a betrayal. It was why he had not taken the time and energy to actually verify that the nameless follower had actually betrayed him. The purpose of the demonstration was not to root out treachery. The purpose was to create a scapegoat.

Since the week before, his energy levels which had previously been unmatched had taken a swift dive. He was well aware that he no longer had the connection that he had created to the sniveling brat. Although he was more powerful than any one Death Eater, he no longer had the stamina that he had enjoyed since returning to a body. It was worrisome to him. He finally realized that Potter had unknowingly supplied the recharge potential he had enjoyed, and he no longer had that avenue.

He would have to push back his large scale plans to research power-increasing methods. He could not afford to show weakness to his followers. His inner circle, outside of Bellatrix and Severus, would have to stay in Azkaban until he was more prepared. It required careful handling - enough bribes to keep them from facing trial and not enough bribes to get them released.

Finally, all had left except one lone figure still kneeling before him. "Severus. I will require information on Lucius's son. What was the result of his summons to the Bank run by those vermin?"

"I have a letter from young Malfoy detailing it. May I present it to you?" Voldemort nodded and Snape approached subserviently.

He opened the letter to read what young Draco had written.

_"My Lord,_

_"I write this to report the result of the Will reading for the Blood Traitor, Sirius Black._

_"First, the attendees included, other than your loyal followers of myself, my mother and Severus Snape, mainly blood traitors and mudbloods. The muggle loving fool was there with his loyal dogs by the name of Weasley, Potter, Granger, the bitch who used to be my aunt before she was disowned as well as her spawn, and McGonagall._

_"The treacherous Black took steps to prevent full knowledge from being made known. Oaths had to be taken to prevent information from being disseminated. However, I kept my oath limited to the bare requirements so that I could report as much as possible to you as I am loyal to your mission._

_"As a result, I can tell you the following: The muggle-loving fool was treated as a traitor by Black. He was left with 30 sickles and a deranged house elf. I do not know the reason for the amount as it is a muggle thing and as such is beneath me, but it was obvious that Dumbledore knew of the reference._

_"The Weasleys refused to swear an Oath of loyalty to Potter. As a result, they were limited to a measly few thousand galleons, not enough to make a difference in their impoverished lives. They deserve their suffering._

_"Gifts were made to the Auror department at the Ministry, but the control of funds has been kept out of their hands. As a result, I can see no way to divert funds to your coffers. Unfortunately, even my father and mother would be unable to. I hope Black is suffering in whatever existence he currently has for this slight against you._

_"The blood traitor who I refuse to acknowledge as related to me was reclaimed into the House of Black. She received some jewels and some galleons. Her spawn received the same._

_"I was forced to swear an oath to prevent certain things from being known. By what is left out, I hope that you may deduce the information._

_"Now, as to the House of Black and its vast resources: apparently the mutt used a ritual to adopt a distant cousin as his recognized issue. As a result, the Headship of House Black is still held by a blood traitor._

_"My mother and myself were conditionally gifted with very significant resources but the requirements make my blood boil: I must not carry your mark or enter your service directly, and this must be verified by Veritaserum and inspection on my 20th birthday._

_"My desire to bring resources and glory to your cause is hindered by the conditions set. If I violate these conditions, the money goes to those that would attempt to thwart you._

_"I await your instructions. If you ask it, I will renounce the Black name as the conditions are something I cannot agree to. I would be your loyal follower. The result of the resources that would come to your enemies in this case would be a sacrifice, but I ask you as my Lord and Master to instruct me in your wishes._

_"My mother, having been dictated similar conditions, also awaits your instructions._

_"Your ever loyal servant,_

_"Draco Malfoy"_

Voldemort considered the missive in front of him. He finally looked at Severus. "Are you aware of the contents of this letter?"

"No, my Lord. Draco only said he must ask for your instructions."

Voldemort considered the letter he had received as well as how to get around the requirements. The sad fact was that he needed resources, and as a result he needed the Malfoys. "Our young Dragon has explained the limitations placed by the blood traitor Black. As a result, you will do the following: You will swear an oath to me that you will not use Draco Malfoy against me or allow him to work against me. You will then bind young Malfoy to you by oath. I would not have the resources he mentioned fall to those that are against me. You will then direct him as I order. Do you understand?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Before you get any idea of betraying me, Crucio!" Severus Snape felt the curse for a moment before it was released.

A short time later he was making his way back to Hogwarts. He would not violate his oath. He would not _knowingly_ allow Draco to work against Voldemort, nor direct Draco against him. He would bind Draco to him by Oath. He worked on the wording of the Oath as a logic puzzle as he traveled. _I, Draco Malfoy, give Magical Oath that I will not inform Severus Snape of any actions I take against the Dark Lord Voldemort, nor allow others to be aware of any actions. Penalty for the breaking of this Oath shall result in the loss of Magical currency in the amount of 1 Knut to Severus Snape, deposited in a Jar without his knowledge._

Perhaps Narcissa would consent to witness the Oath. Yes, his Oath to Voldemort was VERY limiting, he smirked to himself. He would have to carefully not know anything.

* * *

Alastor Moody arrived at Hogwarts shortly after the evening meal. He made his way to Dumbledore's office, ready to give his report. Dumbledore was very interested in it.

"I inspected the house where the boy's relatives live. I found that certain rooms have been warded against magical sight. His bedroom, the kitchen, as well as other places he would be likely to be. I noticed that there was a cupboard under the stairs that was also warded against magical sight. Maybe that's where he keeps his things."

Albus was relieved. The specific warding seemed to indicate that young Harry was present as there was no other reason for such specific locations to be warded. "Was there anything else you saw?"

"After I was at Privet, I decided that I needed to make sure he wasn't somewhere else. So I decided to check out that girlie's house - the Granger girl that he seems to be friends with. I took a look and didn't see anything that indicated he was there, but I then remembered the others that had gone with him to the Ministry, as well as Bones. I decided to check each one as much as I could without being detected."

"Ah, a very wise move. What did you find?"

"The Lovegoods are out of the country on some trip to find some creature and won't be back. The Longbottom boy was harder to check out as his Grandmother has made sure the place was warded much better than others. However, I finally saw him spending time in a greenhouse out back. He appeared to be alone and there was no indication that there was anyone else around. I assume the Weasleys would tell you if he was there. I then went to Bones Manor, and that was where things got strange."

"Oh, how so?"

"Well, I am keyed into the wards there as I was one of Bones's partners when she was a junior Auror. So instead of not being seen, I decided for the direct approach. When I got there, there was significant spell damage to the front of the house, and somehow the wall closest to the edge of the wards was changed into stone."

Albus looked confused. "What would cause that?"

"I would have said a Duro charm, but that's limited to smaller objects than a wall. The front wall is 20 feet tall and 60 feet wide and about 15 feet on either side of the door was stone. The power it would take to do that would be beyond anyone I know of, even you or the Dark bastard. I could have done the door and may be a window frame, you could probably have gotten 4 more feet beside the door. But changing 30 feet across and 20 feet up and down means that it was something else. Either a number of Duro charms from different people or it was a different procedure altogether. I'll have to ask Amelia when I get a chance."

Albus sighed to himself. He just wanted Alastor to get one with it. Normally he would be very interested, but he wanted answers. "I see, well, go on. What else did you find?"

"I knocked on the door and got no answer. Not even the house elf. So that means no one was about. I got myself inside after making sure there were traps on the back door - the front was stone and it wouldn't open. There was a room inside that was warded much more heavily than the rest of the house, and I wasn't keyed in to those wards. Having been there before, I know it's a family room, but I don't know why it was warded so heavily. Couldn't see into it and I didn't want to take a chance there were any curses built into the wards. Probably a last line of defense. I looked around and couldn't find any indication Potter spent any time at the Manor, so I don't think he's been there."

Dumbledore thanked Alastor and dismissed him after admonishing him to keep an eye out for information.

He carefully considered Alastor's report. Madam Bones had apparently been prepared for an attack against her home. As this was a dark time, it wasn't really that surprising. None of Harry's other close friends appeared to have him as a guest, and the warding at Privet would indicate he was there. He looked over to the shelf and saw the damaged monitor for the blood ward. Possibly it was still present and the monitor alone was damaged. It was a slim chance. He would have to inspect the scene himself. The monitor for the tracking charm on his owl, the only device that was still working, showed that it was still on Privet somewhere.

If there were additional wards placed, that would explain why it didn't seem to be at Number Four. He was not prepared to face young Harry quite yet. Perhaps leaving him at his relatives' tender mercies (Albus smirked to himself at this phrase) would ensure he would be motivated to trust him again if he took him away from there.

It was time to get the Weasleys to work on mending fences.


	12. Making Plans

It was early Wednesday morning when Hedwig flew in with the reply form Hannah Abbott.

Susan had gotten Harry's permission to use his owl to invite Hannah over on Thursday night. Hermione, Susan and Hannah were going to have a sleepover. Harry was just a bit nervous though. Three girls and one boy in the house. Harry started to make plans.

Mid-morning, Pig and Errol had shown up to Hermione's house. Pig had a letter for Hermione and Errol had a letter for Harry. They decided to read the letters together. First was Hermione's.

_"Hermione,_

_"I haven't heard from you since the will reading. Can you believe Sirius demanding we take an oath? Knowing how smart you are, I'm sure you refused to take whatever oath that idiot demanded._

_"I wanted to ask what happened after we left. Mum was in a right state, and who can blame her? I'm sure Harry is just loving all the money he got. Probably is gonna start acting like Malfoy. And what was the deal with Sirius and Malfoy anyway? He's a Slytherin and I can't believe that Sirius even left anything to the snake._

_"I also wanted to invite you over to the Burrow. I'm sure you are downright bored with the muggle relatives and if you were here you could have some fun I'm sure. Mum wants to teach you to run a magical household._

_"Anyway, let me know when we should pick you up._

_"Ron"_

When the two were finished with the letter, Harry looked over at Hermione getting himself prepared for the blow-up he was sure to follow. Sure enough, Hermione's face was rapidly taking on a most terrifying look as she looked at the parchment as though it were a marriage contract from Voldemort himself.

Susan, who was on the other side of the library looked up at Hermione and Harry and sent a look at Harry. Harry said, "Ron. Being more Ron than usual." Susan, surprisingly, didn't need any more explanation. She rapidly excused herself to go to the kitchen for a snack, giving Harry a significant look. Susan both looked encouragingly at Harry and quite nervously at Hermione. After she left, Hermione finally exploded.

"THAT LOATHSOME PIG! He is the MOST INSENSITIVE PRAT I have EVER encountered in my life! Just wait until I get my wand on him! When I'm though, he's going to wish he never learned how how to write a letter! No matter HOW PATHETIC the letter was! Bored with my 'Muggle Relatives'? And his mother? Wants to teach me to run a HOUSE? That is so condescending! It's like I'm supposed to come at their beck and call, like some little starry-eyed bimbo! And that's another thing! Where do those red-headed IDIOTS ..."

Suddenly her tirade was cut off as Harry had taken walked up to her and just grabbed hold as hard as he could. When she paused in her speech and looked at him so close, he brought his lips to hers and kissed her as hard as he could. Completely losing the thread of her thoughts, she got lost in the sensation of kissing the love of her life.

When Harry himself started forgetting his name in the sensations, he pulled back and asked, "Better?"

Hermione smiled at him and replied in the positive before quietly saying, "Thanks. I needed that."

Harry looked at her knowingly, "Trust me; I could tell."

Finally she brought her attention back to the cause of her upset. The two of them sat on one of the couches in the library and both took a deep breath and then sighed. Finally Hermione continued, "Well. I am going to look at this calmly and rationally. And then I'm going to research spells to turn weasels into insects before I conjure a flock of birds who like the taste of dung beetles."

Harry let out a hearty laugh in response to her comment, and finally after trying to maintain her resolved look, she joined him.

When the two had settled down, Harry said, "Well, I know what I'm going to do."

Hermione looked interested. "What's that?"

"I'm going to get some use out of my investment in the twins and send them a copy of the letter, with your permission of course. Cry Havoc! And Let Slip the Dogs of Pranks."

Hermione laughed at that before she asked curiously, "I know the quote you're misquoting. But where did you learn it?"

Harry laughed. "Well, one day in primary school we had a substitute teacher. He tended to use different quotes. There were a few Shakespeare quotes in there and that was one of them. It just stuck with me. I didn't really know what it referred to, but I asked after class and he repeated just that part. Apparently there was more to it, but that part sounded brilliant to a 10 year old. Anyway, thought it fit here," Harry smiled.

"Well, I'm all for it. Let's finish the other letter and look at the package that came with it."

Harry stopped for a minute. "Wait. I have a better idea. How about if we ..."

Finally Susan came back in after cautiously checking to see if it was now safe. Hermione and Harry were both finishing letters and both looked much more calm than they had before she ducked out. She would have stayed and found out what was so upsetting, but she wasn't a Gryffindor. Hard work and loyalty didn't mean suicide.

The three spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up what they had been working on and chatting away about Hogwarts, magic, relatives, idiots, and so much more.

* * *

Amelia made her way to the apparition point at the Ministry of Magic. Tonks was following her, as were three other Aurors who would not leave her alone until she was safely away.

It had been a tense two days at the Ministry. After the attack at her home, she had reported in to a madhouse. Obliviators were rushing out the clean up an attack in Kent. At the same time, several off-duty Aurors had attached themselves to her side and refused to budge, citing the fact they were on their own time at the moment and as a result orders to go home were immaterial. As long as they were prepared for work the next day, they could do whatever they wanted. When the six had gone home, another four had shown up after coming off duty. As she had decided to sleep in the the private lounge attached to her office, they felt that four was sufficient to keep her protected.

Finally, Wednesday morning, she had sent a letter to Harry telling him she planned on coming over and that she had contacted someone to repair the damage to her house. She would discuss things when she arrived. Harry had replied, using Tipi, that she was more than welcome. After a call to the Grangers' office, he had also included an invitation to stay over in the other guest bedroom on the first floor.

The two Magical Law Enforcement officers apparated to the Grangers' back yard and then made their way to the door and knocked.

Emma Granger opened the door and invited the two in. They were led to the dining room, where the rest were already seated. Dobby and Winky had once again insisted on cooking and serving and the humans had decided it was a losing battle to convince them otherwise. So, the two men and the five women sat around having a pleasant meal, having decided the serious conversations could wait until after. By the end of the meal, everyone was quite relaxed.

When the afters had been finished, Harry sat back and finally asked, "So, Amelia, what's happening at the Ministry?"

Amelia thought about how much she should say and finally decided that those present could be trusted. "Normally, I wouldn't reveal anything but Friday there will be a no confidence vote in the Wizengamot. Cornelius has made too many mistakes and it's time for a change."

Harry nodded, and then asked, "Who's likely to replace him?"

"Well, there are several choices. One name is Rufus Scrimgeour. He's the head Auror. He has a reputation for toughness which is well deserved, although he's got a bit of an ego which is why I got the DMLE instead of him. Another name is Pius Thicknesse. He's got almost as many years experience as Scrimgeour. One other name is Dolores Umbridge, as she's the Senior Undersecretary despite what was reported in the Prophet. She's been protected ..."

Suddenly Amelia stopped as she noticed the magic pouring off of Harry Potter. His face was like thunder and the feeling of impending danger was palpable. Hermione Granger stood up and threw her arms around him, and suddenly the feeling was gone. The rest of the people at the table relaxed.

After the tense moment was over, Amelia said, "I plan to move on her when Fudge is out of the way. Would you be willing to provide evidence?"

Harry nodded, "I'll provide memories of her 'detentions' and her admitting to send the dementors after me to shut me up. She also was about to use the Cruciatus Curse on me until Hermione tricked her." The explanation for that had to happen before the conversation continued. Tonks also had to have it explained what else she was guilty of. The scar on the back of Harry's hand made quite an impression to everyone at the table.

"Okay, so I am sure we can make sure she doesn't become Minister."

Susan interrupted, "What about you, Auntie?"

Amelia thought a moment. "Well, I think I'd be better where I am. The DMLE needs to be kept together if we're going to win this."

Harry disagreed. "Look, I know you want to make sure the department is effective, but I think you could do so much more as Minister. Make Scrimgeour Director. You said he was tough. Tough would work for you while you got everything else under control." Tonks, Hermione and Susan all agreed with Harry's assessment.

Amelia paused to think about it. "Well, I'll agree to not fight it if I get elected. But, I'm not going to ask for it." Harry nodded. He had a couple letters to write to the Daily Prophet. "Do you have any other suggestions?"

Harry thought a moment. "Can you get Alastor Moody back into the DMLE?"

Amelia laughed. "He's retired. And although he'd be good he could never stay behind a desk. And with his leg, that's where I would want to put him. That or training other Aurors. And he's had enough of that."

"Actually I had another idea." Amelia looked interested. "One of the big problems with the last time Voldemort was running around was the Imperius Curse, right?" Amelia nodded. "When I was in fourth year, Barty Crouch Jr., who took Moody's place, taught us about the unforgivables. He also put every student under the Imperius Curse to teach us what it was like and to fight it if we could. Now, I don't know how legal it was, but as a result I could fight off Voldemort's curse when I faced him." Amelia looked impressed. "How about you get him in as a consultant? According to what we learned, no person can be under two of those Curse's at the same time. If you have him work with the Aurors to have them practice throwing it off, not only would that help keep them safe, it would cancel any earlier Imperius."

Amelia thought about it for a moment. "Actually, there are provisions for it. We haven't used them as they haven't been in use for the last 12 years, but there's law on the books for that specific circumstance. As a matter of fact, I think I'll implement that tomorrow." She looked at Harry. "Thank you. That was an excellent suggestion. Any more?"

"Who votes in the Wizengamot?"

"Well, several families have seats. About two-thirds of the votes are hereditary though in practice only a bit under half of those are in active use; the other members are appointed by the Minister of Magic or the other Wizengamot members. Why do you ask?"

"Do the Potters or Blacks have votes?"

"Come to think of it, both do. As a matter of fact, I think the Potters' held three. The Blacks held two until the last Head before Sirius died. One of them was the Lestrange seat in proxy - it was part of the contract when Bellatrix married into the family. As there were no provisions to pass on the proxy and all of the members were in Azkaban, that's one vote that is no longer currently in use. Lucius Malfoy tried to take the proxy as his wife was related by blood, but there was no one to legally sign it over."

Harry's face took on an unholy glee. "Do the Blacks still hold the proxy?"

Amelia started to smile in response. "You'd have to check with Gringott's. But I think so."

"Can I assign proxies for any vote controlled by Black or Potter?"

"As you were emancipated, yes. You can't vote them yourself as the minimum age is 21 regardless of coming of age, but you can assign the votes to anyone you want to who is already 21."

"That works. Here is what I propose: ..." Amelia smiled in response. When it was all said and done, she laughed at the reactions the plan would create.

The next subject would kill the laughter and cause Amelia to curse. No one was offended due to the nature of the conversation.

* * *

After Tonks had left and Amelia was chatting with the Granger adults in the family room, Harry and Hermione spent a bit of time working out exactly what to write to Ron in response. Hermione didn't want to lie, as this was not her way unless it was life or death, but she also didn't want to tell the Weasleys anything. She didn't want them making contingency plans. Susan even got in on it, after she had read the letter and had it explained what was happening. She was almost as upset as the couple was when she got all the details. Finally the letter was written and sent back with Pig.

_"Ron,_

_"As far as what happened at Gringott's, I really can't say. Although I wasn't asked to take any oaths, I also wasn't privy to everything. I was separated after a time and was escorted home by Amelia Bones, who graciously volunteered, which gave me time to ask her about the DMLE and what I would have to learn to work there._

_"Please apologize to your mother as with everything that has happened; I cannot come to the Burrow this summer. My parents and I have plans which will involve pretty much all of the time until we go back to Hogwarts. As these plans have been in place for a bit, they cannot be changed._

_"I don't know the details of what Harry inherited, but honestly: Do you really expect Harry to start acting like Malfoy? I don't think he has it in him - you know how much he hates that attitude. I'm sure we will hear all about it when we travel to Hogwarts._

_"I'm nervous about OWL results; I hope they come out soon. They are very important to our futures. I'm looking forward to NEWT classes._

_"I will see you on the Hogwarts Express if I don't have opportunity to see you before that."_

_"Love,_

_"Hermione"_

Everything she had written was true - when one looked at it from a particular viewpoint. She wasn't privy to everything - she had no idea what the Malfoys or Snape would ultimately do. She had been separated - when she had left the meeting with everyone else. She did have plans for the rest of the summer - stay as far away from the Weasleys as she could. She didn't know what Harry had inherited - he didn't know everything either at this point. And she was nervous about OWLs - important to her future as well as Harry's. The fact she said "our futures" could be interpreted any way Ron wanted - it was none of her concern. The biggest stretch was "Love, Hermione". Then again one would have to know the words that were left out - "I would LOVE to see you hexed into oblivion"; Hermione didn't think the full sentence would help hide things though.

The three laughed together at the deliberately ambiguous wording, knowing Ron and the rest of the Weasleys would take it as they wanted. Then again, the Weasleys would soon be very distracted.

After this, they made their way down to watch the next movie in the Star Wars saga.

The next morning, the two Weasley adults and two youngest Weasley children were discussing the letter that Ron had received. The tone of the letter was distant, but then again Hermione's mentions of learning and classes implied nothing had really changed. She was just as much of a know-it-all as she was at Hogwarts so there were no real surprises. They would have to send something with more loyalty potions and the love potion though.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Arthur opened it to find Amelia Bones and several Aurors. "Arthur, I have some news; can we come in?"

The Weasleys were nervous; the number of Aurors didn't bode well, although they assumed that they were just bodyguards as Amelia had had several since the attack on her home and Arthur knew that.

"Ah, they very people I wanted to see. We have a problem. As you all know, I was appointed Harry Potter's magical guardian by Sirius Black during his will." She never mentioned, of course, that he had been emancipated within a short few minutes after that. "I have inspected his mail as a part of my duties." As an Auror, and at the request of Harry of course. "Imagine my surprise when the package of treacle tarts he received yesterday tested positive for potions. I think we have some questions we want to have you all answer down at the Ministry."

* * *

Thursday afternoon at 5:30, Harry found himself approaching Longbottom Manor. Instead of waiting until Friday, Harry had gone to Gringott's already to sort out his parents' wills and to do a final check on the proposition he had made to Amelia Bones. Hermione was with Harry to support him; both trusted Neville and knew he wouldn't spill the beans of he was asked not to.

The Grangers had rearranged their day so that they could help Harry with advice at the bank. It meant calling their service a day early, but as they had planned for their vacation time to start the next day it wasn't much of a change. Most of the clients who expected and demanded to see them personally for their regularly scheduled visits had already completed them, and the rest would wait until after their vacation.

Harry knocked on the door as was greeted formally by Neville. He then whispered, "Protocol, or Gran would kill me." The two visitors nodded slightly to show they heard before responding formally to the invitation. Neville the led them into the drawing room, where Augusta Longbottom was waiting.

"Welcome, Mr. Potter. The peace of the Manor is extended to you and Ms. Granger as long as you are here."

"Thank you, Madam Longbottom. I welcome the peace of the Manor and express my sincere hope for your family's comfort." Amelia had taught Harry a few things when the plans were being made the night before. Hermione echoed Harry's response.

"Now that the formalities are out of the way, I wanted to express my thanks for your efforts this year. Neville has proven himself worthy of the Longbottom name under your tutelage."

"Mrs. Longbottom, there was never any doubt in my mind. At the end of the battle at the Ministry, there were two people standing before backup arrived: Myself and your grandson. Even injured and without a wand, he proved himself a fighter. I was proud to have him at my side." Augusta Longbottom's eyes gleamed at the praise for her family although Neville blushed a bit.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. Would you or your lovely companion like refreshments?" Harry and Hermione took the seats that the dowager Lady indicated.

"Some tea would be nice." After a house elf had served the four tea and scones, the conversation got underway.

"In your message earlier today, you expressed a desire to speak to me urgently. What can House Longbottom do for you?" Harry definitely noticed Mrs. Longbottom's tendency toward formality.

"I find that I have need of someone I can trust. Can I speak plainly and in confidence?" Augusta nodded. "Recently my Godfather passed away. You may have been aware of this." She nodded her head. "At the will reading and after, several things came to my attention. First of all, I was emancipated."

"I had not heard this. I had heard Amelia Bones became your magical guardian."

"That was misdirection on the part of my godfather. He did not trust all of the participants and the information came toward the end when most of the people had already been given their inheritances and left. Only myself, Ms. Granger here, Amelia Bones, Auror Tonks, Remus Lupin and Fred and George Weasley were aware of this outside of the goblins at Gringott's."

"What about the rest of the Weasleys? I have heard that one is you closest friend."

"This information has not gotten out yet, and I don't know when it will. I trust your discretion in this, as well as your grandson's." Augusta sat straighter. "Several members of the family have betrayed me, as has Albus Dumbledore."

Unsurprisingly, Neville was shocked to hear this. At the same time, Madam Longbottom didn't show any expression. "Can you explain?"

Harry, with Hermione's help at different parts, explained everything he had learned the week before. When he was done, even Mrs. Longbottom, cynical of Dumbledore's motives as she already was through long experience, was shocked at what she heard. "And how did you become aware of this?"

"I had the aid of the Lone Traveler."

Madam Longbottom spluttered, "But that's just a legend."

Harry smiled ruefully, "A legend based in fact. One day, when we have time, I will tell you the full story." He took out his wand and held it in front of his face. "I, Harry James Potter, offer Oath on my magic and life that what I have said to August Longbottom and Neville Longbottom in the last thirty minutes is true to best of my knowledge. So Mote it Be!" He then shot sparks from his wand to show that he had not violated this oath.

Both Longbottoms sat back in shock at all of the revelations. Finally, Augusta Longbottom responded.

She took her wand out and put it in front of her face, "I, Augusta Longbottom, current Regent of the House of Longbottom, pledge House Longbottom to support House Potter in any way it can to defeat our common enemies. This alliance shall last until the the Heads of both Houses formally agree otherwise. So Mote it Be!" She then shot sparks out of her wand.

"House Potter accepts the pledge of House Longbottom and promises its aid in return at need. This shall last until the Head of both Houses formally agree otherwise. So Mote it Be!" He shot sparks back.

"Mr. Potter, how may House Longbottom aid House Potter?"

"Madam, House Potter holds three votes in the Wizengamot. Before my emancipation, proxy was held by Albus Dumbledore. As the new Head of House Potter, I ask that you accept proxy for the Potter votes until I turn 21, unless the Head of Longbottom changes before that time. I also ask that you use these votes to the best of your ability to help protect the Magical world against those that would see it stagnated or destroyed. House Black, which I also hold Head of House rights to, is being voted by Andromeda Black Tonks. I ask that you ally with her in the Wizengamot to bring about necessary measures. If there is opportunity, I ask that you consult me for my position. If not, I ask you to vote your conscience."

After a moment's thought, Madam Longbottom replied, "I agree to this request. I will accept the votes once proxies have been filed."

Harry took a sheaf of paper from under his robe and handed them to her. "Already done. As I know Neville and trust him, I decided that House Longbottom held sufficient honor."

Augusta was impressed at the implied trust shown. That it was already filed meant that as of 3:00 that afternoon, House Longbottom already held proxy subject only to her signature. She would have fun ruining Albus Dumbledore's position whenever possible.

When everything was said and done, Harry had one more thing. "Hermione, can you excuse us for just one minute?" Hermione looked intrigued, but decided that Harry could be trusted - until she got him alone to force him to tell her what he was doing. Harry and the Longbottoms moved to the other side of the room and spoke quietly. When they returned, both Harry and Neville had big grins. Even Augusta Longbottom was smiling.

Now Hermione was very curious. She would have to get him alone after dinner before Hannah arrived for the sleepover.


	13. Boy Talk, Girl Talk

Thursday dinner found Hermione eyeing Harry and the small smirk he had when they had come back from the Longbottoms courtesy of Dobby. Harry had taken the their friend and his Grandmother aside for something and since then, he had been quite close-mouthed. She would get it out of him.

Right as the dinner was complete, however, Susan dragged Hermione upstairs saying, "Hannah's going to be here in 20 minutes. We have to get ready." Harry kissed her on the cheek and waved as she was forcefully escorted upstairs to freshen up.

At 7:59, the doorbell chimed and Susan, after a quick look at the Grangers for permission, went to the door and opened it to find Amelia Bones escorting Hannah.

Hannah started with, "The bobbies got me." To which Amelia added, "Do you know this delinquent?"

The people in the house laughed as Susan squealed and pulled her closest friend in a hug. Harry was the one who said, "Thanks, Amelia," as Susan took Hannah and Hermione toward the family room. When the girls heard him, they all turned and ran back and hugged the woman, although Hermione was slightly more hesitant. However, as it seemed to be the order of the day, she just went with it. She was much less hesitant as Harry and even the Grangers were included in the thank you hugs before once again Susan dragged the two toward the family room again.

After the girls had made their way out of the room, Harry looked at Robert and said, "It's going to be a long night, isn't it?" Robert laughed even as Emma and Amelia looked at Harry with fond annoyance. His only reply was, "Hey, I'm starting to feel quite outnumbered. Besides Robert here, I'm the only other guy." Although the smile when he said that seemed to indicate there was more to it.

Before Emma could question it, there was another chime at the door. Harry rushed to the door and opened it. Neville was standing there with Tonks and Remus with a big smile on their face. The girls had returned in response to the chime just in time to hear Harry say to Neville, "Thank, Merlin! I was starting to feel quite outnumbered with only me and Robert as the men against the gaggle of women in the house." Neville laughed even as the teenagers in the background started protesting good naturedly.

For Emma and Robert's part, seeing their daughter act as a normal teenage girl with friends and a boyfriend eased a lot of the worries that had gradually built up over the years as Hermione seemed more and more to move away from her mundane roots and more and more into the magical world.

Neville looked toward the girls and waved as he said, "Hello, girls. Harry invited me here for backup, the Longbottoms have allied with Harry here, so here I am." Even as the girls laughed at Neville's comment, they were noticing the changes in him even since the end of the year. Hermione only noticed from an objective viewpoint - her attentions were firmly fixed - but Susan and Hannah were not quite so objective. The two girls were very friendly in their greetings. As the adults were welcoming Remus and Tonks to their home. Robert whispered to Emma that Harry had invited the three.

Finally Robert said, "Well, it seems everyone's here. I'm going to take the boys down to the pub while you girls ... do whatever it is that you girls do when the boys are not around." Harry and Neville waved cheerfully as Neville and Remus followed Robert out of the door. Tonks just laughed and Hermione and the two other girls welcomed her into the circle of younger women. Both knew her as Amelia was Tonks' boss.

Amelia and Emma were quite amused as they made their way to the kitchen for tea and a chat.

* * *

Neville and Harry were both introduced to the game of darts as well as the pub atmosphere. Harry had gone to a bar in Harrods with Robert during the shopping trip, but this was another thing entirely. The bartender was a friend of Robert's and as a result the two teens had a chance for a taste of ale. Harry found that his seeker skills in catching the snitch in no way translated to throwing skills in darts. Robert and Remus quite thoroughly trashed them in the first games even though the two adults were far more tipsy than the teenagers after a few drinks. Neither was drunk, but both were in a happy state.

The third game was much closer as Harry found that if he pushed his magic in a certain way while he was throwing it seemed to help him. Harry whispered instructions to Neville and it seemed to help him a bit too - after his first disastrous throw when he made his first attempt. In the end however, experience trounced magic. As far as Harry was concerned, the humiliation of losing spectacularly in the first games more than excused his attempts at cheating. Remus did stick his tongue out at Harry when the game was done as he wiggled his fingers and laughed. He had caught on.

The four men moved to the billiards table and Harry learned that his hand-eye coordination counted for much more in this game. The team of Robert and Harry beat Remus and Neville. Harry and Remus also beat Neville and Robert. And Harry and Neville won by a single ball against Robert and Remus. Harry was celebrated as the king of the table.

As it was getting close to 10:00, the four made their way down the road back to the house. Remus hit Robert with a sobering charm just in case, as he was driving. Robert's eyes gleamed at the chance to enjoy his ale and still safely get home. Harry was then made to promise to learn the spell before their vacation. In exchange, Hermione's father offered to teach him how to drive.

The four men made their way to the front door chattering away with enthusiasm about the trip to the pub. Neville never felt so ... accepted as he did at that moment. Unlike his time at home where he had to live with his gran's expectations (except when he could escape to the greenhouses) and his time at Hogwarts where he was considered either clumsy, or later treated with awe because of his work on the DA with Harry, Neville felt like a regular guy out having a good time with some friends. The fact that magic played little or no part in it whatsoever (outside of that one game of darts) mattered very little to him.

Although he prided himself in his Herbology skills as well as the skills he had learned for the DA, in the end Neville just wanted looked at as a regular guy, and as a good friend. He was getting his first taste of it, and he was looking forward to more chances in the future.

Robert had enjoyed spending time with not only Harry, but Remus and Neville as well. As a dentist, he didn't have nearly as many casual friends as he had in his uni days. The people he tended to spend time with were other dentists and professionals who spent far too much time talking shop and being "proper". He wasn't trying to recapture his youth, but he definitely enjoyed the rare chance to have a couple of cold ones and a few games with friends at the pub.

Remus had enjoyed himself as well. With the loss of his friends from his teenage years, he was not used to the easy camaraderie that he had missed these last fifteen years. Even in his later teenage years, time spent with friends was a rare commodity with the pressure of classes in the final year of Hogwarts and war after. When Sirius had escaped and they had been reunited, the problem of his fugitive status, the Order of the Phoenix activities and the troubles Harry had to endure on a regular basis still tended to distract from the chance to just have a good time. His status as a werewolf had never helped either. He still missed his friends, even Peter traitor though he was, but with Harry's new independence, the relationship with Dora and the relationships with the family of his girlfriend and now the cub's girlfriend's family, he was starting to feel almost ... normal.

Harry just reveled in the chance to have some fun away from those that would gawk and stare or try to control or attack him. He also decided that Neville was a much more fun person to spend time with than Ron ever was. Without the jealousy and need to be careful to avoid or accidentally insulting Ron's pride, Harry decided that Neville as a friend was much less stressful.

When they made it in the door, they looked around and didn't see anyone. But they heard some chattering and some giggles coming from the family room. Robert put his finger to his lips and whispered to them. They then snuck over to the door and Robert held 3 fingers up. He quietly counted down as he pulled each finger down. At zero, he pulled the door open violently and the four men shouted, "WE'RE BACK!"

As no one in the room had expected it, every one of those in the room jumped and screamed. Remus, Marauder that he was, asked, "Miss up, ladies?" Harry just grinned along with Robert and Neville was shyly smiling as well. The girls in the room paused for a moment to settle their heartbeats, Hermione said a word to the other women, they each grabbed pillows from around the room that they had been sitting on and stood up, although Tonks, who was sitting on the floor with the teenagers, and Amelia, who was sitting in a chair as was Emma, took out their wands. .

Robert took one look at them, turned to the others and said, "Err. I think we should make a run for it." Emma and Amelia decided the four younger women had it well in hand as they sat back down. The boys could be heard screaming as they raced through the other rooms in the house as the yells of the four younger women could be heard in pursuit. Tonks, clumsy woman that she was, tripped and knocked over the three other girls. The males got a good lead because of this and made it around to the other door in the family room.

Robert led the four men with Remus pulling up the rear looking back. Robert prostrated himself right in front of Emma and looked at her with puppy dog eyes from his knees and said, "Save me?" The other males hid behind the couch and expressed their own desires to be saved, forgetting for a moment that the back of the couch faced the door that they had just come through..

Robert was so cute that Emma leaned over and kissed him before sitting back and saying, "No." Suddenly the throw pillow she had reached back and grabbed from behind her was streaking sideways into his arm, knocking him down. The other men laughed themselves silly watching his look of betrayal. The girls followed on the heels of this and looked at the scene. They looked at each other and moved forward. Tonks hit Remus with a tickling hex, as the teenage girls went for a more manual approach. Harry was soon being tickled by Hermione and somehow Neville was being tickled by Susan and Hannah. Emma had taken a look at the teenagers, looked at Robert, looked at the teenagers again and then decided that it was a suitable punishment and started in on her husband.

Finally the men had cried for mercy sufficiently, even through their laughter, that the women had taken pity on them and let them up. Everyone around the room was laughing. Neville was blushing at the same time. Amelia, who had just sat and watched, was actually laughing almost as hard as the men had while under attack.

After all had settled down, Emma looked at the boys and said, "Okay you lot. Go and get cleaned up. We're going to watch the last movie in the series."

Neville and Remus had to have it explained to them what Emma was talking about. As they moved to the second floor, Neville got lost in the explanations, although Remus admitted he had seen the movies 15 years earlier. He also admitted that he had never had the opportunity to see the last one, as it had come out at a time that he was generally keeping himself away from society.

Neville was shown to Harry's room, as it was decided that he would stay with Harry while the girls bunked together. Although he was going to miss spending the night with Hermione - they hadn't moved much past hands but what they had done with those hands was quite exhilarating - he was actually happy to see Hermione spend time with other girls and he was looking forward to talking to Neville more about what was happening with his life.

Everyone made it back down to the family room at about the same time. Amelia had excused herself as she had last minute politicking to do in preparation for the next day. She was planning on arriving back in the guest room by apparition after having gotten permission from the Grangers. She had told Tonks to take the night off and she would make sure that she had Aurors around her when she was at the Ministry. Tonks decided that she was sufficiently protected and chose to stay and enjoy herself.

When Remus had shown back up with the boys, Tonks and Hermione had stood up next the the large plush chairs they had been sitting in and motioned for their respective men to sit down. Tonks then sat down next to Remus, half on her own and half on his lap, and put her head on his chest and turned toward the TV screen. Hermione and Harry were both slender enough that they fit in the chair, although it was a tight squeeze. Neither seemed to mind as they got comfortable. Neville nervously say on the couch between his two Hufflepuff classmates and after they nodded to each other, each sat back and leaned against his two shoulders. He sat rock still until the girls had grabbed his arms and each placed the one they had grabbed on their shoulders before leaning against him again. Neville was getting a crash course in snuggling.

Robert came in shortly thereafter and took a look around the dim room. He saw the position each person was in, shrugged and turned off the main lights as Emma hit the remote on the VCR and the video started. He then made his way to the loveseat next to his wife and sat back to enjoy the movie.

* * *

Earlier that evening, the girls looked at the door where Robert had taken the men out. Susan had corralled the women into the sitting room for some serious gossip.

When the four had settled, Hannah looked at Hermione and said, "So, you and Harry, huh. I want details." Susan giggled as Hermione blushed.

Hermione then took on her best lecturing tone and said, "Well, long story short: He loves me, I love him, my parents are very supportive, and I have learned quite a few things." She then blushed and giggled again.

Tonks piped in, "Not that I care - I have my wolfie - but would some of those things worthy of envy if you said too much?"

Hermione slyly said, "Possibly."

Hannah turned to Susan, "Okay, give! What do you know." Susan looked at Hermione, who nodded before she continued.

"Well, I've been here a couple of days. Since last week when Aunt Amelia went to Gringott's, she's been involved a lot with Harry. Harry also warned her of that attack."

Hannah was surprised. "How did he know?"

Hermione said, "He won't say. He has someone telling him things and they have worked. He won't say who as it would endanger the person." Harry had refused to tell even Hermione about Fawkes.

"Wait. Harry hasn't told you? Doesn't seem like him." Hannah was confused. Everyone knew Harry talked to Hermione about everything.

"Well, except this one thing, I know pretty much everything. But because he can't say on this."

"Well, Susan, good thing your Aunt had Aurors with her."

Susan, Hermione and Tonks looked at each other. Tonks then turned to Hannah and said, "If we tell you, you have to promise it goes no further. The only reason we're willing to tell you is because we know how close you are with Susan here."

Hannah replied, "Of course. So what is it?"

Hermione paused and said, "It wasn't several Aurors. It was Tonks, Professor Lupin, Amelia - and Harry."

Hannah was shocked. "Wait! Harry? Harry faced off against You-Know-Who again?" Everyone around her nodded solemnly. "Why doesn't anyone know?"

"He doesn't want anyone who doesn't need to know to know about it. This is actually the sixth time he's face Voldemort." The teenagers flinched. "Oh, settle down; it's just a name and made one up at that." When the three others looked confused, Hermione explained Tom Riddle and Voldemort.

"Wait! He's a half-blood? How come no one knows this?"

Hermione replied, "Well, several do. All of us, Dumbledore, the Weasleys, Draco and Narcissa Malfoy, several professors and Amelia. It came up at Sirius's will reading in a comment he made and Harry had already told me and the Weasleys."

"And what's up with the Weasleys? I see Susan, Harry, Neville, you and Professor Lupin. I would have thought the youngest would be included, especially Ron."

Hermione, Susan and Tonks all looked sad for a moment before explaining about the Weasleys' betrayal. They also explained Dumbledore's part in is.

Hannah just looked at them in shock. She would have never guessed in a million years. Finally she said, "So, what are you two doing about it?"

"Well, besides taking care of everything that our illustrious Headmaster has been hiding from Harry, we are keeping away from the Weasleys as much as possible. No one knows that Harry is with me, and Tonks and Remus report to Dumbledore that they don't know. Also, we have told Amelia pretty much everything as the head of the DMLE. After we got checked for spells and potions and got several cleared out, we got together."

Susan added, "And they sleep in the same room every night." She smirked at Hermione's embarrassed smile.

"Okay, you'll have to explain everything else later. Back to what's important. I want details. How far have you two gone?"

Hermione was hesitating, although really she wanted to brag to every girl in Hogwarts. After all, she had Harry all to herself. "Well, we haven't gone further than hands, but we've seen everything and what we do has been ..." Hermione shuddered a bit as she thought about it, "quite nice."

Susan, Hannah, and Tonks looked at her. The two teenage girls were a bit jealous but not rudely so. "And just how big is Harry Jr.?"

Hermione took on a smirk as she said, "Let's just say it will never be called 'Little Harry'."

All of the girls giggled and then pressed her for more detail. Finally, Hermione held up her hands a certain distance apart and then nodded when the two girls looked surprised. "And he's still just 15. It usually keeps growing a bit until the mid-20s. Both length and width."

"Really? I didn't know that!" Tonks said loudly.

Emma and Amelia both entered the family room right at that time. Amelia asked, "What didn't you know?"

Tonks spluttered and the girls had guilty expressions on their face, except for Hermione. She didn't know Amelia well enough to say and unlike the other teenagers she wasn't of the same age range. She wasn't embarrassed but, she was reluctant.

Emma looked at Hermione's face and then at the other girls and then asked Amelia, "Are you offended when girls talk about boys and their bits?"

Amelia looked at Emma, looked at the younger women and then let out a loud laugh. "Oh, is THAT all? I don't know about muggles, but with witches it's actually considered normal."

Emma was curious. "Why is that?"

"Well, a number of things. First of all, historically in wizarding society the woman's main role is making an heir. If there are problems, very frank and very detailed discussions about ... mechanics shall we say ... mechanics is not uncommon. Also, because of the number of hexes and curses that involve that area of the body, it just has to be common knowledge both for healers and for women in general, especially mothers. Also, witches like to gossip." She pointed at the four younger women. All smiled sheepishly and the two older women laughed.

Emma added, "Well, with us muggles, it's considered 'rude' by a lot of uptight people. Truth be told, that was mostly Queen Victoria's doing. She was brought up quite isolated by her mother, and all references to sex were removed from the history books. Before that, it was much more of an open subject. Personally, I think it's silly. Hermione and I have always had very ... complete discussions about things."

Amelia replied, "Well, that answers that. Since the wizarding world is still stuck in the 1700s, we never got around to changing the books."

All of the women laughed at that, although not very hard - unfortunately, it was too true.

"So, anyway, Tonks. What didn't you know?"

"Hermione was explaining that a man's bits keep growing until their mid-20s."

Emma nodded her head as she had already known the fact. The others, who were not up on scientific knowledge, were a bit surprised. "As a medical professional who had to spend time in medical school before specializing in dentistry I can tell you that is a known fact."

Tonk's turned to Hermione. "So, how big was he again?" Hermione blushed and looked at the adults. Emma actually knew - she would never tell Harry that Hermione talked so openly to her. Amelia looked on with interest.

Finally Hermione held her thumbs together and carefully moved her index fingers closer and further until she had it just about right and then help up her hands in that position in front of her face.

Amelia, who despite being older by a bit more than a generation - closer to one and a half generations - cleared her throat and said, "Well, all I can say is - impressive."

Emma said, "Yes. A bit on the large side of normal for an average man but when it grows it's likely to reach this size." She held her fingers similarly to how Hermione had held hers. All of the other women in the room goggled. "I think if you last, and I can see that you plan to, you'll have quite the bit to play with for quite a number of years." Emma grinned at her daughter's blush.

Susan was a bit gobsmacked. Finally she asked quietly, "And how big around?" Hermione held her thumb and index finger so she formed a circle with them and then turned her hand toward the others. The two teenage girls looked at her hand, and then looked at Emma with a questioning look. Emma measured the circle Hermione was making with her own fingers and then adjusted them slightly to show how it would be when he had grown up fully.

Needless to say, the two teenagers who hadn't had many such discussions, especially with adults around, lapped up the information, and all the women became quite giggly with the discussion as it continued in more detail.

After an hour and a half, the two girls looked at each other and then asked Hermione about Neville, as they were not in Gryffindor. Hermione explained Neville's bravery and then offered that he was unattached. The two girls looked at each other silently until Susan said, "Share. Until he picks one ore until we decide we like it. Deal?"

Hannah nodded her head and shook Susan's hand. The other women, except Amelia, were shocked at how easily the two girls agreed to such an unusual thing. The two girls looked at each other and then looked at Hermione and said in unison, "Hufflepuff Loyalty".

The giggling continued as the discussion ranged more toward the other boy who would apparently be present that evening.

In the middle of the discussion, suddenly the door opened violently and the men who had left earlier were standing in the door and yelled, "We're back!" They all had screamed a bit in their shock. Remus Lupin asked, "Miss us, ladies?" The women calmed their hearts and breaths and then looked at the smugly smiling males. She turned toward the other women and said, "Pillows". They all nodded and made a grab for them as the moved toward the grinning idiots. The grins melted off their faces, and then Hermione's dad said something about running and they took off. The girls took off after them.


	14. Vacations and Ministrations

Harry sat in the window seat in the 747 that had taken them on the transatlantic flight to Harry's first true vacation in his life. He smiled as he remembered the last three days and how much fun it was being a regular person for a short time.

The morning before, Hannah and Susan had been taken by Amelia back to Hannah's home to continue to spend time together and Neville had been returned to the Longbottoms by Tonks. The Grangers and Harry had spent the rest of the day Saturday packing and making final preparations for the flight that was scheduled the next day on Sunday.

Harry and Hermione had laughed as they packed talking about Neville and the two Hufflepuffs. The five had spent two nights and a day together having fun and being teenagers. Hermione had been teased a lot when the girls had made it to the bedroom after the movie, and Hermione had returned the favor but Hannah and Susan didn't blush as much as Hermione did, or so Hermione had explained to Harry the next day.

As a result, Harry had agreed to the truth or dare game that was planned for the second night as a means of revenge for the ribbing Hermione had received. Neville was too shy to tease Harry, but even he could see Neville gaining more confidence because of the two girls that had decided to attach themselves to him. After, Harry and Hermione had catcalled when the two girls had said their private goodnights to their not-quite-as-shy Gryffindor friend. That had been in retaliation for the catcalling that the two had to endure when they had sneaked away in the afternoon for some private time.

Harry had also picked up the necessary papers Saturday from Gringott's to travel. He was polite, but decided that the goblins seemed perfectly happy to allow him to come in, do his business, and get out without any long formalities. He had made it a point to meet the warriors who had helped with the ritual as he had promised them the week before. They were less gruff with him than goblins usually were and thanked him personally for the bonus.

* * *

As the four made their way through customs, Harry and Hermione noticed a desk that none of the other passengers seemed to notice. When the guard saw the two notice him, he waved them over and pointed at the two parents to indicate they should be included.

When they approached the desk, the guard said, "Welcome to the United States. Now, you know why you were called to dis Customs desk?" The guard seemed very polite about it, although he had a strange accent.

Hermione said, "I assume it's because of the fact we could see you, which means that it is likely that it has something to do with this." At that she pulled the end of her wand out of her purse as she looked at him.

"Very good. And nicely done. If I wadn't a wizard, I wouldn't have a clue. Now, as magicals you gotta check in and have your wands registered. Der's no tracking or anything like dat, but if you get into trouble there's gonna be some record of who you are. Now, all of ya magical?"

Hermione shook her head. "My parents here are muggles."

The guard tensed for a moment and then relaxed as he said, "I should warn ya. In the good ole U S of A, we don't say 'muggle' - it's kinda insultin'. Like calling someone like me a dego or a wop. The word ya wanna use is 'mundane'. Now, I'm used to the way a lot of folks talk when dey come through, but in general it's a bad idea. Another word ya wanna avoid is 'squib'. What you call squibs, we call 'magical mundanes' - although unless it's needed for some reason, usually they just call themselves 'mundane' and leave it wit dat. It's not a common ting, but it happens. You understand?" The two teenagers and the two adults nodded.

"Now, we're gonna go in dat door when all of da people from dis plane are through and I know der ain't no more magicals. We do dis cause it makes it easier for magicals and related folks to learn the rules - and it's faster than mundane Customs. So don't worry about being singled out."

The four waited another 10 minutes until the rest of the plane's passengers moved into the mundane Customs and no others noticed the desk.

Then the guard led them into a room which was very comfortable looking. The benches were upholstered, unlike the mundane section, and it had a much more roomy feel. The guard noticed them looking and said, "We figure if a magical actually goes through customs and don't sneak in, dey gotta be pretty reasonable. So we make it more comfortable for em." The visitors chuckled at the guards cheeky grin.

"Now, let me see da passports." Each of the four took their passports from their pockets and handed them over to the guard. He pulled out a keyboard and mouse attached to a long cord and a display showed on his desk.

Hermione had to ask, "How do you get electronics to work with magic?"

The guard, as he entered information from her parents' passports, said, "Oh, the keyboard and mouse are connected to a computer dat's behind a shielded wall. The display is a charm which is at a distance from the electronic monitor and just shows what it shows. Der are newer electronics dat are actually shielded enough to be used in da room, but you know how da government is. It's either don't spend no money or spend a bucketload more den dey need to." The four laughed at the friendly man's comment.

Once he had entered the information, he stamped the two passports and handed them back and went on to Hermione's. He asked for Hermione's wand and then entered more information into the computer. He stamped her passport with a different stamp and said, "This is a special stamp. If you get into trouble, make sure you show dis to da magical officer or agent, so dey know you checked in right." Hermione thanked him. He took Harry's passport and when he saw the name he said, "Hey, I've heard of ya. Dat psycho wizard attacked you as a kid, right?" Harry nodded, wondering how much hero worship he would have to deal with in the United States. "Well, good fer you for making it out alive." He then continued entering Harry's information. When he saw his age, he asked, "Des your guardians?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm emancipated. If you have to contact an adult because of my age, you'd contact Amelia Bones. She has given permission, if it's needed." Harry handed the guard the forms.

"It's no big deal, but you gotta have next of kin listed." He finished with the passport, checked Harry's wand and then stamped his passport with the magical stamp and handed everything back. "Okay. Now, da laws are different here den in other places. Da law says as soon as you can use a wand, you can use a wand anywhere as long as no mundane who don't know about magicals becomes aware. A lot of mundane places got cameras, so you have to take dat into account. If you do make a mistake, make sure you call dis number." He handed them a business card each. He also handed cards to the adults.

The card said, "Department of Magical Services, Accident Report Line, 800-555-6244." The Grangers however saw "DepartMent of Special services, Report Line, 800-555-6244." The guard pointed out the difference which was caused by a charm. The odd spelling for the mundane view was so the letters stayed tfhe same.

"Now, I should tell ya dat if dey have to come more den three times in a week, der's a fine of 50 bucks. After dat, more den once a week will get you a fine. How long you here for?"

"3 weeks."

"Well, you don't gotta worry about da other limit, but if dey get called more den 12 times a year, it's also 50 bucks each time. Da DMS figures mistakes are easy to make, but too many and it's jus someone being stupid." Harry and Hermione looked at each other and then nodded at the guard.

"Now, you got da right to defend yourself. If DMS clears you, dat don't count toward da limit. Cause der's no penalty for DMS being called out, private memory charms are illegal. First time in a 5 year period is a civil infraction, second one is a misdemeanor, third time is a felony. If der's sufficient cause, you won't be cited. Like I said, people got rights here. Now, either of you bonded to any magical creature?"

Harry said, "Well, we left our familiars at home. I have two house elves that work for me."

"Well, I'm gotta warn ya: If a sentient magical creature is attacked or abused, it's a felony. A bond is legal, but magical creatures got rights too. We don't allow slavery. If a bonded creature is abused, we call it slavery - and dat's a felony."

Harry and Hermione smiled and Hermione said, "That's much better than at home." The guard was impressed that the two visitors agreed with the American view on bonds.

"Okay, here's an address for da magical tourist information center. Der's one in da airport - and here's one in da city if you ain't at da airport." He pushed a button and a door opened in the wall, showing their luggage. "You don't need to go down to the luggage section. Like I said, we make it easier if you gotta do Magical Customs. Now, where ya going next?"

Robert said, "We actually have a night booked at the Holiday Inn here at the airport. We pick up a car tomorrow."

The guard nodded. "Okay. All I gotta do is set the door here and it'll put you in the front desk area." He walked to the door and hit a combination of buttons and pressed his wand to a slot for it and muttered something. He turned and said, "Okay. It's set. You need anything else at Customs?"

Everyone looked at each other and then they all said no. They all also thanked the Customs Agent for being so helpful and then made their way through the door. They passed through a small room and then opened the door on the other side and it opened into the lobby of the Holiday Inn.

As their biological clocks still said it was late afternoon, they decided to find the closest restaurant and get something to eat after they put their luggage in their rooms.

Later, Hermione and Harry learned what every traveler who visits a hotel knows: staying in a hotel tends to encourage sexual relations. The two had quite an evening of sensual massage and manual stimulation which left both quite sated. When they were done, they decided they needed a late night snack. Hermione was about to knock on her parents door to ask them if they wanted something as well, but Harry stopped her with a quiet comment. "If we got up to what we did, what do you think your parents are doing?" Hermione blushed and the two made their way the closest vender that sold muffins and juice.

It was the second full day of the road trip. They had spent a day looking up travel information and had started on the road. Harry had a hard time getting used to the cars driving on the wrong side of the road. It was weird to him. Robert almost had an accident coming out of the parking lot when he had forgotten. After the adrenalin had worn off, the four shared a small - very small - chuckle. Once they had gotten on the road, they had found their way to Philadelphia. They had stopped overnight in the city at a hotel, and then had taken in the sights, after a breakfast of eggs and scrapple. Harry's comment on the mystery meat was "Well, at least it tastes good".

Although they were British, they could respect the efforts of a people to fight against the oppression of a ruler who ran roughshod over them. Independence Hall was interesting. The Liberty Bell actually caused Harry to tear up. When he had seen the the phrase, "Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof", he had asked the information center what the letters after the quote meant. It was a biblical quote: "_And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family._" The idea liberty relating to the return to family caught him.

They had then learned what a "Philadelphia Cheese Steak" was - Pat's and Geno's were both visited and Harry decided he'd have to learn to cook that.

They were on the way to Ohio. Hermione was looking over several pamphlets. She suddenly piped up with, "Hey, there's a magical settlement near Columbus. Will we have time to go there?"

Robert, who was in the passenger seat, looked at his map. "Well, we'll be a bit north of that. We were planning on stopping in Cleveland at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I supposed we could take an extra day - as long as we're back in New York in 2 weeks and 4 days, we can do anything we want. What do the rest of you think?" Emma nodded her acceptance and Harry would always take Hermione's suggestions. Hermione hugged her father from behind.

After stopping in Cleveland - Robert was REALLY into the Rock and Roll Museum and they had spent longer there than originally planned - and visiting the National Inventor's Hall of Fame in nearby Akron, the group continued on their way toward Columbus. They stopped at a restaurant which served an American dish called pancakes. Harry, isolated as he was growing up, learned that it was a breakfast food but he figured it tasted just as good as dinner and could understand why the place specialized in it. Emma, however, spent a good few minutes lamenting the effect of syrup on their teeth. Robert, who had been the one who had suggested the particular meal, very maturely explained that they were on vacation, it was not a regular thing, and then stuck his tongue out at her. Everyone, even Emma, had a good laugh about it.

* * *

Later that night, the group stopped at a rest stop before midway between Akron and Columbus, where they planned on getting a hotel. They were enjoying the trip immensely. Although the cities were somewhat crowded, at least outside of New York none were as crowded as London back home and there seemed to be much more space all over the place. It was a totally different feel.

Harry and Robert were coming out of the bathroom, having needed to relieve themselves. Emma and Hermione had taken one look at the roadside facilities and decided they could wait until they reached a hotel. It wasn't completely disgusting, but the two women claimed it was too much like an outhouse and they didn't feel completely comfortable using the facilities if they didn't have to. Consequently, the two women waited at a picnic table near the building.

As Robert was talking to Harry, Harry stopped because something felt - off. He began to rush, before he even realized he was worried. When he got into a position to see the women, he noticed a man that had stopped at the previously desolate rest stop. The two women were aware of him and kept an eye out, but something about the man screamed "danger" to Harry. The man was facing the women seemingly intent and so did not see Harry coming from behind. Hermione saw Harry with Robert behind him and felt immediate relief. Her face must have alerted the man as he swung around toward Harry and began pulling something from his jacket pocket.

Harry had already been reaching for his wand when he was approaching, and as a result he needed no time to aim and call out "Stupefy!" The man crumpled to the ground as the two women rushed over to the the two and threw themselves at them.

Harry had a time trying to settle Hermione down. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I left my wand in the car. The man started approaching and I knew he was trouble. He reminded me so much of the Death Eaters. I was so worried ..." Harry decided at that moment to kiss her. It was the only way he could think of to calm her down quick enough. It worked to, although Harry could see she was still reacting. But she took on a forced calm to at least not worry her mother more than she already was.

"It's okay, Hermione. I got you." He pulled his wand arm from around Hermione and shot out an Incarcerous and then turned toward Robert, who seemed to have calmed Emma as well, and said, "Go to the pay phone and call that number we got at customs. I'll keep a watch on him."

When Robert and Emma came back, the two women reluctantly separated from them and went to the car to get Hermione's wand. Robert stood next to Harry, thankful that the boy - no, the man - was with them and could protect his wife and daughter. He wordlessly patted Harry on the back as the two men stood looking at the man on the ground in the magical restraints.

After 20 minutes, two cars with flashing lights pulled into the rest stop and two uniformed men came out of each, all of them with their hands on their weapons although they didn't look like they were going to draw.

Two of them went to deal with the man on the ground and two approached the two men and two women. One of the men, who had three stripes on his arm versus two for the other driver, said, "Ohio State Police, Special Services Section. What happened? Who subdued the man?"

Harry, who was the one who had stupefied the man, said "I did. He was menacing my girlfriend and her mum when I came out of the loo. When he realized I was behind him, he started to pull something from his pocket and I reacted."

The officer nodded at him. "I need to interview you alone. Are you a minor?"

"I'm 15, but I'm emancipated."

"Then you won't need an adult present. Please come to my car. My name is Sergeant Jeffrey Swanson." He began to put a latex glove on his hand. "I'll have to ask you to give me your wand; it's standard safety procedure to make sure anyone being interviewed doesn't have a weapon. Do you understand?" The man obviously was making sure Hermione and her parents could hear his instructions so they would know what was happening. The man was very businesslike but Harry could sense that he was not in any danger. He turned his wand over, handle first, and the officer took it. When the two got to the car, Harry was put in the backseat but the door was left open. It was apparent to all present that he was not being treated as a criminal.

The second officer was getting the names and personal information from the others while Harry was interviewed. When it was done, Hermione's father was questioned and then Hermione was taken to the car with her father present as her guardian. Emma was then interviewed as well by the man.

While Robert was being questioned, Hermione had to ask the officer a question, "Excuse me, sir, I'm curious." The officer standing with the three not being currently questioned looked at her. "I'm not trying to be offensive - I'm just always curious about things. But is there a reason you interview in the car and not here?"

The officer tensed slightly, even though he was outwardly calm. Harry interjected and smiled as he said, "Really. She's a bookworm. Has to learn everything." The officer relaxed and laughed at the grin Harry and Emma had and the sheepish expression on Hermione's face.

"Standard procedure. There is a recorder in the car to make sure that there is a video and audio recording. Protects both us and the people we question."

Hermione nodded, "That makes sense."

Harry also had noted that the two officers who had gone to the man he had stunned were in the other car. He was in handcuffs sitting in the back seat as one officer stood next to the open door and the other was in the car typing on the computer.

Finally, the interviews were done and everyone was sitting at the picnic table waiting for the officers to come back. The two that had interviewed them were talking to one of the officers from the other car. When the discussion was over, the two came back.

"Here are your wands, passports and other papers." He spoke to Harry directly, "You have good instincts. The man you stunned, Chase 'Chaz' Johnson, is a mundane prior offender and has a warrant for his arrest pending for kidnapping, sexual assault, and assault with a deadly weapon. What he was pulling out was a gun. He allegedly targets women in out of the way places who are alone or only in pairs. You might have just saved many lives."

The group shuddered at what could have happened.

"As this was considered justified, there is no infraction for DMS violations. We report to the federal jurisdiction and they always defer to the state authorities is such cases unless a federal crime is involved. Now, there happens to be a $10000 reward that was posted for information leading to the arrest of Johnson. Normally it's arrest and conviction, but this wasn't posted by the Department of Public Safety. It is a privately funded reward by the father of the girl who was last attacked by him. Here is the card with who to contact to collect your reward." He began to hand Harry the card, but Harry refused.

"I don't need a reward. The fact that I protected my girlfriend and her mother is good enough for me. Tell the man that I refused it."

The officers looked at Harry with approval, but Sergeant Swanson said, "The reward is already deposited, and in these circumstances we actually don't have a choice but to disburse it because as I said, the money doesn't come from the government. Besides, a little money can go a long way for someone your age."

Harry thought about it a moment. "Is there a fund for victims?"

The officer nodded. "Victim Compensation Fund helps pay for counseling and to take care of medical costs and lost wages for felony victims."

"Then I would like to donate the reward for that. I have enough money from inheritances and I really don't need it. How can I donate it?"

The officer went to his car and returned with a form. Harry filled it out and handed it back. Sergeant Swanson looked at it, and then looked at Harry. "The Department of Public Safety thanks you for your generous donation." Harry nodded.

Two two officers actually shook Harry's hand as they said their goodbyes. Hermione and Emma decided that with everything that had happened, they could no longer wait and the two made their way to the facilities. Harry and Robert stood watch outside, neither willing to take any chances, although both saw that the two officers had turned their emergency lights off and were apparently waiting until the group was safely on their way.

The group took the first exit from the expressway that showed that there was a hotel. It was getting late, and after the run-in with the attacker, none wanted to be out on the road anymore that night.

They all made their way to the rooms and showered. Hermione didn't really want to be alone and so the two teenagers showered together. After they had gotten in bed, Harry held Hermione who was still a bit shook up from the earlier incident. After she had actually calmed down fully, instead of looking like she had, she turned her head toward Harry and said, "Thanks, Harry. I don't know how I would have handled this without you."

Harry smiled at her, "Anytime, Hermione. I will always protect you."

Hermione's face took on a thoughtful look as she looked past Harry for a moment. Her eyes then landed back on Harry and she said, "Harry, I want to do something to thank you." She pointed toward his bits to show what she meant.

"Hermione, Love, really no thanks is needed. Not that I don't want to ... well, anyway ... not that I don't appreciate the thought. But, I also don't want to take advantage of you being upset. I want to make sure whatever we do, it's what we want and not because something bad happened."

Hermione nodded her head and replied, "I understand and I agree. I want things between us to happen for the right reason." She paused for a moment and then continued. "I've actually wanted to do this for a couple of days - nothing having to do with tonight." She blushed. "What happened tonight is really just an excuse for me to do it."

Harry looked at her to see if what she was saying was true. Although his streak of nobility was saying stop, his teenage body was reacting. It was much harder to be objective, but finally he decided that she was telling the truth and it was just an excuse. He laughed, although he was somewhat nervous and then quietly said, "Okay."

*** LEMON STARTING ***

It got deleted by the site it was posted on and I didn't have a backup. Sorry.


	15. The Value of a Different Culture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skip it if you don't care to read it. Anyway, I have had several complaints in reviews that the last two chapters were pure fluffiness and had no bearing on the story whatsoever and should have just been skipped. Two things First of all, maybe it was a bit fluffy. Hey, I'm new at this AND I happen to like fluffiness. Doesn't mean it will all be fluffy. If you hate it, then you don't need to read it, do you? Chalk it up to an author becoming annoying and let it go and read something more to your taste. There have been a few stories that fell into this catagory for me. I loved it until ... and then I hated it. It happens. It's not the authors' fault when it happens; it's my taste not theirs and so I can't complain much can I? Second of all, if you didn't see the point - you just missed it. I recommend reading the chapters again - especially the last one - to figure out how this is molding his views on magic and the world. Although I love the "Harry just throws off the constraints of his upbringing and what he learns in the magical world" stories, I'd like to see a basis for the way he changes his mind or advances himself from observation. Anyway, as I said - take a look again. If you don't see it, and you decided to keep reading this fic, you might see the results later.
> 
> Also, later in the chapter, I make reference to race - it is realistic to the type of person and the language used. There is no effort to be offensive, but those who haven't experienced the culture might be offended by the use of certain words. The worst I will still censor myself on - but you will know what I mean.

Hermione was in the passenger seat of the Land Cruiser, directing her father toward the location given on the map. Unfortunately, it was spelled so that mundanes couldn't read it so she had to give the directions.

Finally, they arrived at Hopewell Village, near Chillicothe. According to the pamphlets, it was names after the native who had centered many of their most magical sites in the area and was a convergence point of several ley lines.

Hermione and Harry had to talk to the "National Park Ranger" to allow them to enter. Apparently the enclave could not be seen by mundanes and the entrance to the Hopewell Culture National Park doubled as the entry point for those that were unfamiliar.

Hermione was bouncing in excitement at the opportunity to see an all-magic area, just like Hogsmeade was near Hogwarts. There was even a magical academy, although it apparently wasn't a boarding school, and it was empty for the summer.

Robert parked the car in the lot that was provided and Harry paid for the horse-drawn carriages that were the actual form of transportation used in the enclave. The parking lot was used by visitors and natives alike, although they were sure the natives didn't have to spend as much for the carriages.

As they were driven toward the Visitor Center in the middle of the village, they were all surprised at the mix of humans and non-humans that were apparent. Several goblins and house elves were in evidence, as well as wizards and witches who looked like average people. There were also several Native Americans. They also saw a shop called "Vlad's Blood Bank" which appeared closed and another named "The Howling Hamburger" which was apparently run by a werewolf. Hermione commented that if she had her way, magical districts in Britain would look much the same in the future.

After a trip to the Visitor Center, Hermione calcified all opinion of her by dragging Harry along to the bookstore.

As the group entered, they all noticed that the store was much bigger on the inside than the outside. Emma and Robert looked at the teens and Hermione let Harry explain about space expansion charms while she immediately started looking over the shelves.

The first thing that Hermione noticed was that, unlike Flourish and Blott's back home, books that were apparently quite dark seemed just as available as books that were quite light. Finally, Hermione couldn't stand it and went to get an explanation.

She approached the man behind the counter and asked, "Sir? Can I ask a question?" The man, dressed in Native American dress, asked her what she needed. "I can't help but notice that there are books of a type I'm not used to seeing in bookstores. Aren't Dark Arts books illegal?"

The man looked at her, and replied, "Where are you from?"

"England."

"That answers that. The laws of the United States are a bit different. The US Constitution explicitly states that there is freedom of speech. What it basically means is that it is legal to publish and sell anything. It can't be limited unless it is in danger of causing imminent harm. For example, ever hear of a book called 'Monster Book of Monsters'?"

"It was a textbook my school used several years ago."

"Well, in the US, a book like that can only be sold to an adult and only with a clear warning of what can be expected. Dark Arts books, because of the possible addictive nature of such magic, can only be sold to adults or with the consent of a guardian unless it's just theory. It's up to every person to use what is available responsibly and legally. For example, you can buy a book on rituals that use human sacrifice, but the practice has been outlawed in the US for over 200 years. So you can buy the book which explains how it is done, you just can't perform the magic."

"So, your government can't restrict what's sold?" was Hermione's response, although it came out more like a statement. After the shopkeeper nodded, she asked, "What about taking the books outside of the country?"

"Well, the laws are a little different. Export can be done unless it violates US Secrecy Laws or national security. Really, unless you in a restricted part of a Magical Military library, you won't find books that are limited by security."

Hermione took her newfound freedom to buy books and bought several books that were restricted in the UK, although not Dark Arts. Harry bought a book explained the Dark Arts much better than anything available in Hogwarts. Then he had a thought. He went to the clerk and explained what he was looking for. He had to give his name and list his history with Voldemort to explain why he needed to know the information. When he did, the clerk gave him a piece of paper with a name with who to contact. It happened to be the Magical Defense teacher from the school located in the magical enclave.

* * *

When the book shopping was done and the books shrunken down to matchbox size until they were back home, they had a wonderful time exploring the rest of the enclave. They saw a magical butcher shop and had to check it out. The shop was run by a goblin. When they asked about cooking over a campfire, they were sold a magical cooler which could be used on a camping trip. In addition, they bought several steaks of magical origin. Harry had never camped before and the Grangers had never seen magical steaks, and so they had decided to find a place where they could do have a barbeque while they were on vacation.

One thing that Harry noted was a display, just like a butcher's shop back home, of different meats. One of the meats was basilisk. There were two prices, one much higher than the other. When Harry asked about it, the goblin explained that the more expensive price was for aged meat. He also explained that the meat was not edible by humans, just goblins and dwarves.

"That's quite pricey though. How long after a basilisk is killed can the meat be obtained from the carcass?"

The goblin thought about it. "If it was a non-magical meat, such as bison or cattle, the meat would have to be processed immediately. Aging is done for a short time. In magical meat, spoilage is inversely proportionate to the magical content of the carcass, it's size, and how protected it is from the elements. Hippogryph, for example, can last in the open for about 6 months, and in a controlled environment about a year. Griffon, which is a larger creature, could last twice as long. Dragon, much more magical, can last five times that length. Basilisk would be similar - a bit less if they are younger and smaller. Similar to Wyvern meat for draconic animals. Much smaller and less magical than a full dragon and lasts a shorter time as a consequence. The only thing that would outlast the normal dragon or basilisk would be sphinx meat of certain types."

"Oh, well thank you."

"Was there a particular reason you asked?"

"I killed a basilisk a while ago, and it's never been processed. I'm wondering if I should do something about it."

"Well, unless it was larger than 20 feet, it would have to processed within 4 years."

"How about 40 feet?"

"As I have never heard of one longer than 30, all I can say is that it would last possibly another 3 years beyond." Harry calculated that the one he killed at 12 years old could be harvested possibly as long as 10 years later, which meant he didn't have to worry about it now. "Should the meat not be spoilt, you would do well to offer it in sale to a goblin - we find it quite tasty."

"Thank you. I was just curious."

They left the shop and continued on their way. Harry had called the person recommended at the shop and an appointment was set for the next day. The group spent a good portion of the rest of the day exploring the mundane park as well.

* * *

The Grangers plus one found themselves being welcomed by an older man dressed in Native American leathers and beads. He introduced himself as Qaletaga Eaglefoot. When Hermione asked, he explained his name meant "Guardian of the People". He also explained he could be called Joshua if his Native name was too hard to pronounce.

As the man toured them around the school, Hermione asked many questions about the differences between what was taught in the school and what she learned at Hogwarts. She was interested to see a computer lab station set up in one part of the school. Finally, the man took them to his classroom. Unlike Hogwarts, the school seemed much more like the schools she had attended as a child.

After everyone was comfortable, Harry began.

"Mr. Eaglefoot, we were referred to you as someone who could help me with information to explain some things." The man nodded for him to continue. Harry then spent the next hour explaining his peculiar history and what had happened during the cleansing ritual. As Harry mentioned the minor possession explanation, the man grew more and more intense - or that was how Harry saw it anyway. In truth, Joshua Storm Eaglefoot, Qaletaga to his brothers and to his people, was extremely alarmed.

When Harry finished, the teacher replied in firm tones, "What you describe is very evil magic. I only know of it as I have studied far and wide to help to educate my people and other magicals in how to protect themselves and defeat those that would _muaYa_ \- make bad medicine, Dark Magic to those that do not speak my language. This magic of the _wanaYisapa_ , the black spirit, is of the most evil and darkest type." Harry and the others could see how much the idea of what he was speaking about upset him.

"In Ancient Egypt, those that ruled were much concerned with death and eternal life. One such ruler ordered his court magician to create a magic that would allow him to live eternally. The court magician decided that he would work to ensure that the spirit lived within the circles of the world. He and others spent many years developing a ritual to anchor the _wanaYi_ the spirit. It was found that by splitting the spirit and anchoring the split portions to an object that the spirit would not move on to the realms of the dead but would stay within the realm of the living.

"It was found that the spirit rebelled against killing, and that in killing a tear in the spirit would occur. The ritual that the court magician created would force the tear to become permanent and to anchor the torn off piece to something."

"What the magician did not discover until too late was that by tearing the spirit, all human compassion was destroyed and the one with the torn soul would become insane."

Harry thought about it. It made sense. No one would ever accuse Voldemort of simple compassion and Harry could attest to the insanity that he exuded. "I would have to agree with you. Tom Riddle was obsessed with immortality and would not hesitate to sacrifice his humanity to stay alive."

The older man thought for a brief time. "Do you know of any anchors?"

Harry explained about both the diary that he destroyed in second year as well as the anchor that was removed from his forehead.

"What you describe would lead me to believe that he created more anchors than just these two. The question is how many."

Hermione thought about it for a moment. "Well, there is much importance placed in prime numbers in the teaching of our culture. Especially the numbers three, seven and thirteen."

Joshua Eaglefoot shook his head, "It would not be thirteen. The wanaYi would not survive that many tearings. According to what you have said and the description that you gave, if I had to guess I would say seven. Three was done in Ancient Egypt - more common was four which was considered a magical number. If he has 'gone farther on the path to immortality than any before me' it would suggest seven. I do not think a wanaYi would survive more than that. And if it did, the power of a magical one would be destroyed."

Harry looked at Hermione and then back at the teacher. "It would make sense with his personality. He is obsessed with power and with death. He would not take a chance of losing his power or with dying. He is insane - not stupid."

Eaglefoot disagreed. "Doing this ritual would be thought of as stupid by those that created it. The ruler who commissioned the ritual did not prepare for death the way the other rulers before and after him had. When he died and his spirit anchors were destroyed, he ended up lost to time as he never created a tomb. His burial site was a random grave of the same type as the poorest of the poor. And he was considered the most evil of all rulers. The people forgot about him and considered him a flawed ruler, not worthy of divine status."

Finally Harry asked, "So, how do I find these anchors to destroy them? And how can they be destroyed?"

The man thought for a long moment. "The destroying of an anchor requires more magic than was used to create the anchor. The diary you spoke of was destroyed by a very magically poisonous venom. There is a magical fire spell. Blood magic, similar to what was done by the goblins of your land. Tears of a phoenix mixed with the ash of its burning. A soul devourer."

Hermione had a thought. "A soul devourer. Do you mean a dementor? And are there any books on destroying the anchors?"

"That is what they are called in lands across the sea. And yes, give me a moment and I will find the title. You might locate it in a bookstore, but it is unlikely to be in a bookstore in a small enclave such as the one this school is located in. You would need to go to a bookstore in a large city, such as Los Angeles or Washington D.C."

"How about New York?"

"You should be able to find it there."

The teenagers thanked the man for his help, and the adults added their thanks on behalf of themselves and the teenagers.

* * *

The group continued on their vacation, having learned what they could at the enclave.

The next stop was a surprise that Emma had for her husband and daughter. She took over the driving as the group made its way north into Michigan and west after a night in the city of Toledo. Emma consulted a map, refusing to allow her husband to know what she had planned. By the next morning, all she would say was, "We're close."

Everyone enjoyed the trip - even if most didn't know where they were going. The wide open country they drove through was very relaxing. Finally Emma stopped at a gas station and used the payphone to make a call. When she came back, she cheerfully ordered everyone back into the SUV and drove along a country road until she turned into a long driveway toward a country house.

The sign on the property was "Farmer Orchard, Battle Creek". When Robert saw it, he laughed. "I should have thought of this!" When Hermione asked him what he meant, his reply was "What does the name 'Granger' mean?"

Hermione answered, "Farmer". She started to brighten in comprehension.

"We're going to visit my distant cousin Frank and his family."

Emma laughed as she admitted it was true. The group could now see the family that was on the porch, waiting for the visitors to arrive. There appeared to be a middle-aged couple, a woman in her twenties and an adolescent girl.

The group got out, and Robert called, "Hello, Cousin Frankie! It's been a long time!"

The man, who looked similar to Robert replied, "Hello Cousin Bobby!" even as he reached the car and embraced his cousin.

The Introductions began a pleasant visit to Hermione's more distant relatives. Harry learned that Frank's grandfather had moved to the US just after the first world war, and that Robert and Frank hadn't seen each other in 25 years, although they had spoken or written many times since. It was a relaxing stop for everyone.

* * *

Monday morning found Harry looking at a very different statue than any he had seen before.

The family had spent the weekend with Robert's cousin and had then traveled to Detroit to cross over to the Dominion of Canada. Near the entrance to the tunnel below the river, Harry had spied something that caused him to ask Robert to allow a stop.

In the heart of Downtown Detroit, there was a statue of a fist that hung in the center of the the major road that went through the city where it met with the road that was next to the river.

The group stopped and walked up to the area of the statue. They looked around and didn't see a plaque explaining the work. Finally, Robert crossed back over to the east side of the street to ask a passing older gentleman about it. After a moment, Robert called out and motioned the rest to join him.

The man, an older man with dark skin and salt and pepper hair was talking to Robert as the group approached. When Harry got there, Robert pointed to the man and said, "This is Michael Brown. Mr. Brown, you were saying you could tell us about the statue ..."

The man, who looked quite proud, said, "That is the fist of Joe Louis."

Hermione, who was always interested in learning everything she could, asked "Who was that?" The man looked shocked that she didn't know who Joe Louis was.

Robert, who had heard of him, said, "Mr. Brown, can we buy you an early lunch and you can tell us?"

Michael Brown appeared to think about it and then said, "Alright." He led them across the street and down a little to what looked like an old diner with the name, "American Coney Island." He explained, "Best place in the city for a coney dog. Place has been open since 1921, ain't never closed."

After everyone had gotten a meal with suggestions as to what to get from Michael, he led them to a table. "You asked about Joe Louis. Any of you heard of him?"

Robert said, "He was a boxer if I remember correctly."

Michael laughed. "You're from England, right?" Everyone nodded. "Saying Joe Louis was a boxer is like saying Winston Churchill was a politician." As they ate the surprisingly good coney dogs, the older man continued. "Back in the 1930s, I was just a kid. You don't know what it was like, but black people didn't get a fair chance. In different places, a black man couldn't eat in the same places as white folk. Especially the south. Even in places where there was a lot of black people and it was easier to get a job, we were treated as second class. Segregation was everywhere.

"Joe Louis made a big difference. He came to Detroit as a teenager and started to learn boxing. He became known as a clean-living black man. He lost one fight to Max Schmeling, which was a German white man. Two years later, there was a rematch. Adolf Hitler was already beginning to make trouble in Europe. Joe had once beat Mussolini's man and was a big name to America. Hitler used the fight as propaganda for the superiorness of the 'Aryan Race'.

"Max Schmelting lost. It was a big thing for folk both black AND white. He was still treated like a n****r in a lot of places. But people needed a hero, and he was a hero. He helped break down the segregation in sports. The old Jim Crow laws were changed or gotten rid of because of him. It took a long time, even after the fight. But he lived to see a lot of the changes.

"Eventually, he was known by everyone as a hero. White reporter made a comment about someone saying he was a credit to his race. The reporter said 'Yeah, he's a credit to his race - the human race'.

"Lotta people didn't like the Fist when it was put up. But after a while, people started changing their minds. It stood for the power of one man to change things, just by being who he was. Lotta thngs named after him. But now the Fist is a part of the city. Shows what Detroit is like. We fight. We're tough. Don't matter how hard it is. We do what we have to. Not just black folk - everyone."

After thanking the man, the group decided to spend more time in the city, looking at different historical markers and places. Later in the evening, Harry asked to stop one more time at the Fist before they crossed over to Canada.

He stood there in front of the statue looking up at it with an intense expression on his face. Hermione, seeing his expression, asked him what he was thinking.

"I was thinking about what Mr. Brown said," Harry began, his tone showing he was distracted by his thoughts. "I'm not a boxer like Joe Louis, but I'm in a war. It's like what is happening at home. The purebloods don't like the muggleborns and halfbloods. A lot like the segregation he was talking about. But one man made a difference and changed things. Now people don't think about his color, just about his standing strong. Gives me hope for the wizarding world actually." He turned toward Hermione and her parents.

"I just hope that when I'm gone ..." and he paused, trying to think of the words, "I hope when I'm gone that people will remember me like people remember him. I don't want statues or anything like that, or things named after me. But I want people to stop worrying about what makes us different, and remember that I didn't fight because I'm a halfblood or because I want to protect the muggleborns. I want to be remembered as someone who fought against evil for everyone."

* * *

He would never know, but after he died, his wish would be granted. Many people, witches and wizards and goblins and elves, would come to the statue of his hand holding his wand that was placed just inside the entrance to Diagon Alley, and remember that Harry Potter fought so that everyone could live free and safe.


	16. Back in Britain

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore addressed the gathering.

"Good evening, and welcome to the weekly meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. First order of business: Has anyone seen Harry Potter?"

All around the room, no one replied.

"Alastor, have you seen any indications at Number 4?"

Moody shook his head. "I waited until the muggles had left and got inside the house. The areas that were shielded didn't show any sign of Potter being there. I think it was deliberately shielded to fool me." Here a smile appeared on his grizzled face. "I'm glad to see he's practicing vigilance."

"Nymphadora, has there been any sign of Amelia seeing young Mr. Potter? I would assume as she was named his guardian that there would be some hint of it."

Tonks scowled before she shook her head, "Sorry. From everything I've seen, I have no idea. And don't call me that! Is Tonks too hard to remember?"

"Remus, have you checked the Granger home again as I have asked?"

Remus had carefully schooled his features to a look of someone who didn't know anything. "I'm sorry, Albus. From standing outside, I haven't seen anything that would indicate that he has been there. And I've watched thoroughly to see if there were any signs." Remus did not add that he had watched specifically because he knew that Harry had been there. The fact that it appeared that Harry was not there was a good thing in Remus's book.

Unfortunately, Albus thought, he was not lying as he had Mundungus Fletcher inspect Remus Lupin's claims. "Arthur, has anyone been able to enter Number 12?"

Arthur Weasley shook his head. "I've tried a few times since the will reading and it has apparently sealed itself off. We've had an eye on it, and without actually going inside there's no way to be certain."

Dumbledore nodded his head. "Thank you, please remain after so I might consult with you privately." Arthur agreed.

Minerva McGonagall was nearly scowling. The Order of the Phoenix was supposed to be leading in the fight against Voldemort. Instead its leader spent his time concentrating its resources to finding a student. She was more and more mentally moving directly to Harry's camp.

"Severus, any word of Tom?"

Severus Snape's face was a mask of indifference. "Since the attack on Madam Bones, he has been researching something, but he does not confide in his followers. He has stated that further attacks would come soon, however."

"Please inform us as soon as possible as soon as you have any information." Snape nodded briefly.

"Does anyone have anything to add?"

Hestia Jones replied, "I do." When everyone turned toward her, she continued with, "Since becoming Minister, Amelia has been investigating the Ministry for Death Eater activity. There have been no removals as of yet, but it's likely there will be."

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Thank you, Hestia. Please inform me should the investigation bear fruit."

Albus Dumbledore was wholly dissatisfied with the direction the Ministry of Magic had taken. Cornelius Fudge had been ousted as Minister in light of the attacks in Kent and on Amelia's home. It had been a very short time later that Madam Bones had been placed as Minister, riding on her successful participation in opposing Voldemort. She had then begin working on strengthening the Auror force.

Madam Bones had also required all Ministry employees to report all groups and organizations that they were a part of. The new regulation, as reported in the Daily Prophet, had been put in place to ensure Ministry workers did not have divided loyalties. Employees were required to disassociate from any group or organization working to destabilize the Ministry or the magical world. Currently the only organization on that list were the Death Eaters, but it placed Dumbledore in a bind.

He had been forced to allow members of his Order that were Ministry workers to report their participation. If he had opposed it, the Order would have been placed on the same list. Nymphadora had intimated that she had inadvertently "let the cat out of the bag" when her own participation had been mentioned during the Voldemort attack. Amelia had then contacted him and informed him that if anyone was found to not have reported their participation dire consequences would result.

She did not care if they were involved, as long as the Order did not work to bring down the Ministry or its resources, but if anyone had been found to dissemble on this, his Order would be disassembled.

Albus had been frustrated over another thing as well. The Wizengamot votes that he had held proxy to for the Potters were taken away. Andromeda Tonks and August Longbottom now help the proxies for Potter and Black and they were firmly on the side of Madam Bones.

Shortly after Hestia's report, the Order was dismissed.

"Arthur, have your youngest made any progress on communicating with Harry Potter?"

Arthur shook his head. "Ron has sent letters, but there have been no replies. Ginny has sent a letter as well, and there was no reply. In fact, owls have come back with the letters unopened. I don't know if this means Harry is somewhere he can't be found or if he just refused them. I saw nothing which says he even knew the letters had been sent; the owls returned too quickly."

"And young Miss Granger?"

"She replied to an earlier letter that her parents were taking her on holiday. She said that the plans she knew of would send them to the continent."

Albus nodded. "Very well. Please ensure your family is prepared to host either of our two charges when either one or the other pop up again. Also, we must be careful. The inquiry that began with Amelia confiscating the last delivery was only derailed when the evidence mysteriously disappeared." No one had been told that Albus himself had switched the contents on a clandestine trip. Only because of his wand and his magical prowess had he been able to hide the fact that he had acted. "In the future, I cannot help your family if someone catches them using a potion." Albus gave Arthur a significant look.

Arthur Weasley was not slow, no matter what image he portrayed. He knew that if another inquiry happened with potions being givem they would be on their own. Arthur nodded and made his way back to the Burrow.

The Headmaster sat back and contemplated on his weapon. Since the reading of the will, he had not had any control over his weapon and this was unsettling. He also had limited control of his strongest supporter. The loyalty potion that Molly had reported would ensure that he had some modicum of control, but it would have to be strengthened. Also, it must remain hidden.

* * *

Amelia Bones was returning to her home quite late this Monday evening.

She had arranged for a clandestine meeting with the goblins of Gringott's Bank. After learning what house elves could do with wards and other magics, she had begun to think outside of what was normally considered by witches and wizards.

Goblins could ward a property, for a fee. Regularly used wards were available for a fee and were usually accomplished by a combination of goblins and wizards or witches employed by Gringott's. She had attempted to find out what ELSE had been possible and what it would cost.

Her biggest concern at this moment (outside of Voldemort directly of course) was Azkaban Prison. Harry had told her that plans were in the works to break Azkaban again and release the dementors to the service of the Dark Wanker. She had personally reviewed the orders which were used to manage the system and had come to the conclusion that the strongest human Aurors were being systematically moved away from Azkaban and those that might be questionable because of family were being moved to the prison, but only on a timed schedule. Those that were strongest were all moved to the daytime hours and the those that were weakest and most questionable were moved to the night shift with much more leeway for the dementors to make up for "any shortages".

She had used the "annual inspection" to begin to rectify the situation. No one at the prison had been prepared for the inspection as apparently no one had considered that she would make the time to do it in the face of other distractions.

On her inspection, she had once again reordered the Aurors back to what had been the most effective duty roster. She had also ordered that dementors were to be more isolated and under more stringent controls. While the Warden had objected, the Deputy Warden had been fully supportive of her measures. As a result, she pushed through the Wizangamot the order that the Warden be moved sent on a world-wide visit to other prisons to learn all other techniques. It was phrased as a "reward" - allow the Warden to learn other magics and give him a break - but in actuality it was to get him out of the way.

The goblins were making up a proposal for what could be used to make the island more impregnable. She knew it would take some work and some galleons, but it had been a very long time since the wards had been tweaked and she felt that this was a strong possibility.

Another concern was Hogwarts.

Amelia had reviewed the pensieve recordings that Harry had given her. It was truly appalling what had been happening at the school with no one the wiser. Albus Dumbledore had a lot to answer for. However, it was difficult to attack him directly. Instead, she had enlisted the help of Augusta Longbottom to help clean up the Board of Governors.

Augusta was holding the Potter proxies and Andromeda was holding the Black proxy. Both families had seats on the Board of Governors. The Potter seats (there were two for some reason) were being held by Dumbledore's supporters as he had declared himself Magical Guardian. It was still a problem. The Black seat had been in the pocket of Lucius Malfoy. Luckily, Andromeda Tonks had taken that seat back already.

She only hoped that Augusta could come up with people that were capable of withstanding both Dumbledore's and Voldemort's control. Augusta could not hold three seats personally (Longbottom and the two that Potter controlled) so she would have to delegate. Amelia had been assured by Augusta that she would take care of it.

Since the evidence for the inquiry against the Weasley children had somehow disappeared - subsequent testing had shown no potions in the confiscated package - prosecution had been declared as untenable. She had resolved to keep a closer eye on things on that front as well.

Tom Marvolo Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort, was contemplated the figure in front of him.

His spies at the Ministry of Magic informed him of the change in the situation at Azkaban. He had put off the attack because of the power drain from whatever the Potter menace had done. Now, two weeks later, the new situation made it problematic. Added to the fact that Amelia Bones was now too protected for an attack to be successful, this new situation was not a good one for him. He had crucioed his spies.

He then ordered that one of her guards be kidnapped. Unfortunately, he could not harm the guard as he needed them to attack Bones at the proper time. His spy had been successful. After several potions had been used to heal the guard from the damage inflicted, he Imperioed the new pawn and then ordered the pawn to Crucio the spies that had allowed their incompetence to interfere with his plan.

His order to the pawn to use the Avada Kadavra curse on Madam Bones in full sight of the Wizengamot was a most delicious order to give. His plans would move forward and his enemies would pay.

* * *

He made sure that he screamed most loudly in the face of the Cruciatus Curse that he was under. The fact that it did not hurt as much or last as long as the curse by his master was actually a plus. He was unaware, unlike Bellatrix Lestrange, that it signified a more righteous hate than was necessary to make the curse work. He had never had this problem and had never had to teach the curse. When he learned it, it worked for him. And so he never learned the limitations.

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks was never so thankful as she was right now for Mad Eye Moony and Amelia Bones.

The order that Mad Eye be hired to desensitize the Aurors against the Imperius Curse had borne fruit. She now knew of the names of several spies, and found how truly terrifying and at the same time idiotic the Dark Lord was. He had ordered her to do something that she found repugnant. She had used the hatred for her kidnappers but she felt completely fouled by what she had done. But, in the face of what she had experienced and what she now knew, she had had no choice.

She would make a complete report for Amelia and then she would crawl into bed with her wolfie. She needed some comfort and she needed it now.

The fact that she had thrown off the Imperius Curse from Voldemort wasn't even something she thought about. But when it was pointed out, she would feel some pride in the accomplishment.

* * *

Ron Weasley was quite irate about how he couldn't begin to use Hermione because she was not there. He wanted his sex slave and he wanted her now. He began talking to his mother about how to strengthen the loyalty potion's effect.

* * *

Ginny Weasley was reviewing her list of possible suitors. She didn't care about her mother's plan so much as wanting to make sure she lived in luxury. How about that one? Blaise Zabini was actually quite attractive. And his mother was the Alpha type, so he would be used to it. It had definite possibilities.

* * *

Neville Longbottom was enjoying spending time in his greenhouse with his guest.

"No, we didn't find any there. But next year we're going to try Greenland." Neville nodded his head, as he made another cut on the Devil's Snare plant he was working with.

"Now, where are you looking again?"

"Well, we tried the mountains and along the rivers. The fields produced some positive signs but nothing definitive. The biggest problem was that you have to be nude to find them and it was quite chilly at times."

Neville was stunned. It took him a moment to get his bearings again and smack the Devil's Snare that tried to crawl up his arm. "That sounds like fun. Wish I could have been there."

"You could always come next year," his visitor smiled shyly. "I could get my father to invite you along."

"You know, I could do that. I think I'm really looking forward to it, Luna." He wasn't quite tied down with the two Hufflepuffs yet.

AN As a reviewer pointed out, it was time to find out what was happening back home. I also wanted to explain what happened to the Weasley investigation. Albus isn't a total idiot in this story.


	17. Getting Back to New Headlines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I updated. Life happens. I had to reread the story and fix some problems in the last chapter before I could move on to this one. I can't promise I'll update fast. But I do promise to finish it eventually.
> 
> And although there is a bit of fluff, this isn't a Harry Sue piece. Dumbledore isn't out for the count yet and Voldemort isn't totally incompetent. Things could still go south (theoretically). I hope everyone enjoys the story and where it goes - even as it changes course on occasion.

Harry watched out the window as the airplane flew through the clouds.

He had thoroughly enjoyed the first vacation of his life. He had seen things that made him think about the way things were in England and had dedicated himself to changing them.

He also had learned of the way that Voldemort had extended his life. The soul anchors, as the Native American had labeled them, were apparently created to hold on to life past death. They had found the title he had recommended in a magical book shop in New York. It was a rare book, and the salesperson had looked at him with a bit of trepidation when Harry had asked for it. When he had explained that he was only interested in methods of destroying such things, his obvious sincerity had settled the clerk down.

In addition to that book, "Black Magicks", Hermione had been excited to be treated to whatever books she wanted by a loving boyfriend. She had learned that the bequest to her from Sirius hadn't included as many books as she had thought. The majority of the Black Library was restricted to blood relatives and those books had been excluded from what she had gotten from Sirius. There were several hundred books that were not considered family magics that she had inherited, but there had been several thousand that were.

From what Harry could see, she was not fretting about it though. Harry owned the library left to the Blacks, and he had offered to let her read anything from the collection as soon as he figured out how to allow it without some weird penalty being activated. She had shivered when he had whispered in her ear, "But then again, by the time I figure it out you might be family already." As he had grasped and held the ring finger on her left hand when he had said it, he thought she had gotten the clue about what he had meant. The night after they had talked about it was memorable.

Harry and Hermione had shrunk their book purchases into the smallest package they could and had placed notice-me-not charms on them. As they appeared to be miniature books to the naked eye, they weren't too worried about muggles seeing them; the collection looked to be a curio piece. They really wanted to avoid unwanted eyes seeing the restricted nature of many of the books.

Emma and Robert Granger were very happy with the trip they had just finished with their daughter and her boyfriend. They had enjoyed how Hermione had seemed to open up more and more since she and Harry had become a couple. Instead of losing her more, they found that the family had become that much closer.

* * *

The Grangers plus One arrived back at Heathrow Airport relaxed and invigorated. The three week vacation that the Grangers had arranged still had five days to go. It was late on Tuesday night when they finally arrived back at their home in Crawley. When the vacation had been planned, they had assumed they could take a couple days locally and have a few days to get the house dusted and cleaned at a leisurely pace. Unfortunately, it seemed that the house got dirtier when they weren't there than when they were.

Not this time.

They opened the door to find the house spic and span. There was a pot of tea, still warm, and a plate of scones and sandwiches laid out in the kitchen, as though they had been expected. The Granger parents were amazed but Harry and Hermione laughed. Harry called out for his friend.

"Mr. Harry Potter Sir! Welcome back! Dobby hopes that everything is satisfactory." Dobby stood in front of Harry with adoring eyes, but still nervously grabbing and letting go of the worsted material of the tunic he wore.

Harry smiled down at his friend and replied, "Yes, Dobby. Everything is great. Is there anything that I should know about?"

Dobby, who had beamed when Harry had expressed his satisfaction, took on a calmer look. "Dobby not know of anything, but Dobby has been taking care of the home of Mr. Harry's Miss and Mr. Harry's and his Miss's familiars. Dobby had also been watching over Ms. Susan, and she has been safe. Dobby has been keeping the nasty newspaper delivery paid and they can be found in the family room on the snack table." Dobby looked up expectantly at Harry to see if what he had done was proper.

"Excellent, Dobby! Can you go and let Tonks, Amelia and Remus know that we are back in town. If they are with anyone, make sure you wait until they are alone."

Dobby nodded enthusiastically and popped off with a small crack.

Harry went and grabbed the stack of the Daily Prophet from the family room while the Grangers sat down to the table. Suddenly Crookshanks, fairly adroitly for a pudgy half-Kneazle, ran into the kitchen and jumped onto Hermione's lap. He pushed his face against her and rubbed enthusiastically against her arm. At least temporarily, the aloof and taciturn attitude he normally displayed was gone; he had missed his human greatly.

As Hermione cooed at her familiar and petted him, Harry came back in the room with the stack of Daily Prophets Dobby had collected. As he laid them on the table and sat down, Hedwig, apparently having heard the humans return, flew into the room so quickly it looked like she was attacking. Hooting loudly, she landed on Harry's arm and rubbed her head against her beloved master.

For the next several minutes, the two teens were totally engrossed in reestablishing the connection with their animal friends. The Grangers watched the scene with some amusement. They began laughing when the two animals, after calming down a bit, switched humans. Hedwig flapped her wings and hopped over to Hermione, while Crookshanks jumped off of Hermione's lap onto the floor and immediately moved to Harry and jumped on his lap.

However, when the two parents had laughed, the two familiars began eyeing the two with a bit of haughty disdain, causing them to settle down and apologize to the two animals. After they had, holding their laughter back, apologized, the two animals turned their attentions back to the humans. Hermione and Harry had to hold back the laughter as well. After Hedwig had flown back out of the door to upstairs and Crookshanks had followed more sedately, the four humans had looked at the door and then at each other. Harry's comment of, "Just a bit of pride I think" caused them all to let go of the laughter they had been holding.

Finally, the two teens and the two adults began looking at the headlines of the papers and passing them around. The news was quite revealing.

_Tuesday, July 9, 1996_

** _CHANGES AT AZKABAN! Cleaning House_ **

_Amelia Bones, Head of the DMLE, pushed trough a motion in the Wizengamot Monday to reorganize Azkaban Prison. The Warden of Azkaban, Cuthbert Knibbs, has been sent on a worldwide tour of ..._

_Friday, July 12, 1996_

** _MINISTRY WORKERS ARRESTED! Death Eater Found in Important Positions_ **

_According to an announcement by the DMLE yesterday, several followers of He-Who-is-not-Named were found to be in key positions at the Ministry of Magic. According to Senior Auror Rufus Scrimgeour, the investigation begun by Amelia ..._

_Saturday, July 13, 1996_

** _CORNELIUS FUDGE RESIGNS! Amelia Bones Appointed_ **

_In a surprise move, Friday afternoon found Cornelius Fudge in the front of the Wizengamot resigning his position as Minister of Magic. The embattled Fudge recently has lost much support because of ..._

_Tuesday, July 16, 1996_

** _DUMBLEDORE RELIEVED OF WIZENGAMOT WARLOCK POSITION_ **

_Albus Dumbledore, long time Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, was removed from that position at the request of Amelia Bones, Minister of Magic. In a surprise motion, Amelia Bones cited recent reports (as reported by the Prophet) of ..._

_Wednesday, July 17, 1996_

** _LOST EVIDENCE? Former Chief Warlock Questions Bones's Record_ **

_In a shocking revelation, Wizengamot member and former Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore requested information regarding a report by unnamed sources suggesting tampered evidence ..._

** _DEATH EATER SPY SENTENCED TO AZKABAN_ **

_In a secret trial before the Wizengamot, Death Eater spy Thorfinn Rowle was unmasked and evidence given that he aided in abducting an Auror. Due to security concerns, the name of the Auror was not reported although it was announced that the unnamed Auror overcame the Imperius Curse ..._

_Friday, July 19, 1996_

** _WHERE IS THE BOY-WHO-LIVED? Minister of Magic Stays Mum_ **

_According to reports by unnamed sources, Harry Potter became a ward of Amelia Bones after the Last Will of Sirius Black was read. Black, exonerated posthumously, apparently named Amelia Bones the magical guardian of Harry Potter. Questions have arisen ..._

_Monday, July 22, 1996_

** _DEATH EATERS ATTACK MUGGLE VILLAGE, Aurors Battle Dark Forces_ **

_In a report from the DMLE, a small muggle village in Oxfordshire was attacked by a force of Death Eaters and other dark creatures under the orders of You-Know-Who. Aurors, alerted by a muggle-born witch in the village ..._

After the headlines had been looked at by all at the table, the members of the Granger family plus one looked at each other. Harry finally looked at Hermione and said, "I guess it's time to get to work."

* * *

The small group of Death Eaters arrived outside the wards of Azkaban prison in a small boat that was stolen specifically for this job. The group was to inspect the wards without being detected and then report back to their lord. Voldemort was becoming furious at the lack of progress of breaking Azkaban prison. None of the group wanted to return to their master without some good news to report. The Cruciatus Curse was a painful penalty to pay, and so the group was quite diligent in collecting as much information as possible.

* * *

Bellatrix Lestrange was torturing another Death Eater as Voldemort looked on. The Death Eater being tortured had failed to secure the funding from Bellatrix's vault. In another time and place with Voldemort in charge of the Ministry behind the scenes, the goblins could be pressured into unfreezing the account. In this time and place, the Ministry was too secure against possible coupe and so the goblins only had to cite treaties and agreements with the Ministry of Magic to prevent access to the vault. Finally Voldemort called the torture session to a halt and dismissed his Death Eaters.

* * *

Severus Snape moved silently from the room, apparating to his home in Spinner's End. As he entered his home in the dilapidated neighborhood, he pondered the short message he had overheard after the object lesson provided. After dismissing the Death Eaters, he had heard Bella quietly say to the master, "At least your cup is safe, milord." He had avoided any reaction which might have given away that he had heard the quiet comment as he passed out of the room. He could tell that this information was vital in some way, but he did not have any clue as to why. In the past, he would have reported the comment to Albus Dumbledore. However, he was becoming more and more disenchanted with the old man. He would have to hold this information until it was apparent that it could be used properly. He would, however, make a record of it in such a way that it could be passed on if he suddenly ended up dead or out of the picture. The question became: To whom should the information be passed?

* * *

Draco Malfoy sat with his mother, contemplating the decision that was before them. Because of the magical oaths required at Gringott's, he had felt comfortable discussing his options with his godfather and his mother. Unlike his father, his mother did not force his choices. Severus had also refrained from making an indication as to what he should do. His mother did not seem supportive of dismissing the option out of hand, as his father would have done. Draco Malfoy, free of his father's influence because of Lucius's current residence in Azkaban, finally began to think like a true Slytherin. He had realized that his father's directions to goad the boy-who-lived was counter-productive. Whether he chose his father's path or the path laid out by his deceased cousin, he would no longer call attention to himself unnecessarily.

* * *

Amelia sent Dobby off to Harry Potter with a letter requesting a meeting. She did not begrudge Harry his vacation out of the country, but there were things that had to be done and unfortunately she needed his input. Unlike her predecessor, she felt no desire to sit back and wait for a teenager or an old manipulator to handle the problems faced by the magical world. She had done many things to change the way the war was prosecuted. However, she did feel much more comfortable knowing that Harry was back in country. To her personally, he was a symbol of hope. And although she hated to admit it, he was probably the single most experienced individual in dealing with Voldemort. Although she would do her job, she did know that the teenager with the messy hair and the lightning-bolt scar had a vital part to play in the conflict at hand.


	18. Taking a Stand

Amelia Bones apparated to the bedroom at the Granger home that she had used when she had stayed before the Grangers' and Harry's vacation. It was 6:00 on Wednesday night and it was time to catch up with the resident hero of the wizarding world. As she came out of the room, Dobby was present to welcome here and invite her down to the dining room.

When she entered the room, Emma saw her first. "Amelia, it's good to see you. How have things been in Britain?"

"Very busy. Welcome back to you all. How was your vacation?" The smiles on their faces answered that question very quickly.

Harry piped in first. "Best vacation I ever had." He smiled sheepishly, and then added, "Of course, it was my first vacation. But it was brilliant." The rest voiced their agreement. After all the meeting and greeting and a pleasant dinner all around, they moved to the family room to talk about things.

"Harry, what do you know about what's happening?"

"Well, we looked over the Daily Prophet's that had piled up while we were gone. I assume there's more than what's in the paper. What happened with the Weasley case?"

Amelia swore briefly and apologized. "Sorry. That's a sore point. Somehow, the package that was locked in evidence somehow was tampered with. When the material was brought for a formal hearing, there was no love potion in the package. There was no record of it being accessed. Because of the lack of evidence, there was no way to proceed." Her face went from annoyed to flinty. "Dumbledore even used the possibility of tampered evidence to attempt to discredit me after I had been appointed Minister of Magic." Her face changed again to thoughtful. "Of course, I suspect he had something to do with it. It really ended up being quite cunning on his part."

Through this Harry's face became more and more set in a look of anger. This wasn't directed at Amelia. "It's amazing that they could _weasel_ out of things. Anyway," Harry's face became much more friendly, "as I said earlier, congratulations on making Minister. All in all, things look much better than when Fudge was in office. Are things going as well as they seem?"

Amelia took on another thoughtful look. "Generally, yes. We've been successful in rooting out a couple of moles. Azkaban's security has been tightened up quite a bit. We've been watching for signs that there might be an assault, but nothing has materialized. Of course, that might be because of the extra warding we paid Gringott's for. The dementors are isolated to the high security areas and there are wards preventing them from actually moving outside of the areas surrounding the high security cells and another area where they can be corralled when needed."

Hermione had a question. "Why are the dementors needed anyway? It seems quite cruel to subject people to their effects, no matter how criminal their actions."

Amelia replied, "You have a point. The reason on record is that the dementors prevent magically strong people from bypassing the security measures with whatever magic they can access without a wand. It's argued that the dementors prevent accidental or wandless magic from high risk prisoners. I think it was instituted more for revenge. Do you know when dementors first began being used in Azkaban?"

Hermione thought back to her history texts. "From what I've read, they began being used in the late 1500s."

"1597 to be exact. This was before the Statute of Secrecy. In 1589, there was a wizard, Francis Stewart Bothwell, that attempted to use magic against the Royal family. It caused a witch hunt in Scotland in 1590. In 1595, he ran off to France creating political problems. When it was decided by the Wizengamot that he be tried for treason and for creating problems for wizards and witches, they wanted to punish him harshly. They created a story of him moving to Spain. In actual fact, a well-known squib was charmed to look like him and he was tried and sent to prison. That got rid of an embarrassing problem for the pureblood family the squib came from. The dementors were semi-sentient wraiths that had been identified in the 1500s and brought to heel. Instead of destroying them when they were all captured in 1597, the Wizengamot decided that adding the dementors to Azkaban could keep them around for use later and also punish Stewart more for all the problems he caused. The main reason wasn't even the witch trials; it was the money that several Wizengamot members had lost when they backed him during his initial push for power." Amelia made a face, "It almost always comes back to money, power or revenge."

Harry was disgusted. "How many people know the full story?"

Amelia shook her head ruefully. "It's not well known because the record was suppressed. I only know because it's in records that a person studies when they become head of the DMLE. Unlike the muggles, there's no law declassifying information after a number of years in the magical world. The only reason I can tell you is that the information can also be found in many family libraries, your's included. Most pureblood families don't care to expose old secrets because they want to be able to take advantage themselves when they get a chance."

"Can dementors be destroyed?"

"There is a record of dementors being destroyed during a rebellion when the Wizengamot tried to use them against the goblins. There is no magic known by wizards or witches to actually destroy them - only contain them."

Harry thought for a while. "How much would it take to have the set up suppression wards at Azkaban for high security prisons?"

"Actually, it's part of the wards now."

Harry was actually outraged. "So why use dementors anymore?"

"Because there's no place else to put them. I have enough authority to actually get rid of them, but without a place for them to go there's not much I can do."

"Well, I guess that's something to think about. Is there anything you need from me?"

Amelia looked nervous for a moment, but decided to push on. "The fact of the matter is that you're a symbol of hope to a lot of people. The fact you haven't been seen around has made those people nervous. I'd like you to visit Diagon Alley." When Harry began looking annoyed, she continued hurriedly. "I'm not asking you to support the Ministry, or anything else. In fact, personally I think you should be left alone as much as possible. It's really the Ministry's job - the prophesy from that addled drunk at Hogwarts notwithstanding - to take care of the Death Eaters. I just think it would be good for the wizarding world if it was seen that you are okay."

Harry thought about it for a bit and then sighed. "Well, I have some business at Gringott's I'd like to take care of. I guess if someone can keep the Order of the Fried Chicken busy for a while on Saturday, I could spend some time in Diagon Alley. Would that work?" He looked at Amelia expectantly.

"I could get them all called to Hogwarts for an inquiry about that missing evidence and the Weasley case. I'll offer Dumbledore home field advantage to make it look like I'm willing to work with him." Amelia got a positively feral grin. "It won't produce any arrests unless someone makes a mistake, but it could keep them tied up for a while. You would have time to do whatever you like in the Alley."

The answering smirks from all around the table would have made Dumbledore very nervous, him having experience with the Marauders and the Weasley twins.

* * *

Somewhat later, when Hermione was distracted with organizing some of the new books she had gotten on their trip, Harry made his way to his seldom-used room (he pretty much had moved the things he regularly needed into Hermione's room). He silenced the door and then called out, "Fawkes!"

The beautiful red and gold phoenix arrived in the room in a burst of flame and then trilled enthusiastically upon seeing Harry. Hedwig hooted her greetings to her master's new friend as Fawkes glided gracefully down in front of Harry, who was sitting on the bed.

"How are you doing, Fawkes?" Harry petted the great bird as he trilled happily. "Is there anything I should know about?" Fawkes looked deep into Harry's eyes and Harry got an image of Dumbledore raging apoplectically about Harry not being seen at all at his relatives house, even though signs seemed to point to him being there. Dumbledore had even ordered Fawkes to take a letter to him with a portkey, but Fawkes had flamed out for a while, come back and acted confused, the letter never being delivered. Fawkes trilled at Harry, very amused about thwarting the manipulative old man.

Harry thought a moment. "I think I can fan some flames. I plan on being in Diagon Alley on Saturday. Can you help Amelia Bones distract Dumbles that day?" Fawkes trilled. "Okay. I'm going to get Dobby to help me 'be seen' at my relatives tomorrow or Friday. Amelia will be getting everyone to Hogwarts Saturday that has to be distracted. Whatever you do, don't let on that you aren't controlled anymore. I'd rather have Dumbledore find out I'm visible than him find out that you're free." Fawkes rubbed his head against Harry and trilled in adoration. "Is there anything else?"

Fawkes sent a vision of Dumbledore discussing some object having to do with Voldemort at some place called the "Gaunt Shack" with one of the portraits. Apparently, he was making plans to go have a look soon. "Do you know what this is about?" Harry asked. Fawkes trilled discordantly and sent a vision of Harry holding Tom Riddle's diary in the aftermath of second year. Harry looked startled. "Do you think there's time before Dumbledore goes and looks?" Fawkes looked thoughtful for a moment and then trilled cheerily. "Do I have a week?" Fawkes turned his head and trilled with uncertainty. "A few days?" Fawkes trilled with more enthusiasm. "Okay, I'll really have to get him distracted for a little bit." Harry smirked. "I think I can do that." Fawkes trilled merrily at him, almost like he was laughing.

Harry petted him some more and then with some amusement said, "Okay, go look innocent for a while."

Fawkes trilled some more, flapped over to Hedwig and they trilled and hooted for a moment before Fawkes flashed back out of the room.

Harry thought hard for a few minutes and then made his way back down to the library again. Hermione was placing books in her magical section and was almost cooing at the books as she placed them. Harry watched her in a amusement for a moment before walking up and gently folding her in his arms from behind. "How's it going in here?"

Hermione turned her head and kissed him on the cheek before smiling brilliantly. "Excellently! I have most of the new books sorted. What are you doing?"

Harry paused for a moment and then said, "Taking care of unfinished business. I haven't heard from Snape or Malfoy and I am wondering what they decided to do. Both could be useful allies. I'm thinking of sending them messages, but I'm not sure how I want to do this." Harry took on a worried look. "I don't want to use Dobby to send a message to Malfoy because of his history. Hedwig is too obvious I think. I want to visit the Alley on Saturday and get their decisions if they made them, but I don't want to tip off either Dumbles or Voldyshorts. Without the oaths we heard about at Gringott's during the reading of the will, either one of them could tip off one side or the other too early."

The two teenagers stood there and thought about it for a few minutes. Finally Hermione ventured, "I don't think we can chance it without them contacting you first. Saturday is 30 days though, so maybe if we just have Dobby take a message to Gringott's, they might know something." She shook her head ruefully. "I don't think Malfoy will show his decision before he absolutely has to. That's about 5:00 Saturday - exactly 30 days after the stipulations in the will. Snape you have two more days to."

"Now, on something different. I think I may have gotten some information on where another one of Voldy's soul pieces are. I'm thinking about hiring Gringott's to help me on that. What do you think?"

Hermione thought a moment. "We haven't taken the time to study it thoroughly yet. Can it wait until we do?"

Harry shook his head. "This is time sensitive. If we don't get it now, either Voldy or Dumbledore might get it first. If a bit of gold can get it at least collected, I'd rather do that than take a chance. The goblins have curse-breakers for a reason, usually having to do with collecting treasures. I can't imagine them refusing a possible profit."

Hermione nodded her agreement. "Okay. I guess it's time to write to Sharpclaw. You can ask about Malfoy and Snape and about hiring services at the same time."

Harry kissed her and said, "I knew I liked you more than just for your beautiful body." Hermione blushed and giggled in response.

* * *

After spending the last two days of the Grangers' vacation going to muggle sites that Harry had never had a chance to see, Saturday saw Harry and Hermione making their way to the Leaky Cauldron. They had gotten the word from Amelia that Dumbledore had fallen for the ruse to keep him tied up at Hogwarts. Most of the Order of the Phoenix as well as the younger Weasleys would be there to be interviewed by Scrimgeour and another Auror with Amelia monitoring the proceedings. The Order members not tied up at Hogwarts were tied up on Privet Drive. Harry had gotten Dobby to verify that the Dursleys were not home and had gotten his elf friend to take him to his former home when the coast was clear.

Harry spent an hour "doing the gardening" while the Grangers were having a lunch break from the site-seeing. Harry had promised to come back as soon as the Order had been distracted. Hermione was almost too worried to eat, thinking about everything that could go wrong. However, once Arabella Figg had been spotted by a watchful Dobby taking a walk on Privet, Harry had made sure he was seen before making his way back inside. Both Harry and Hermione were sure that as soon as he was seen, Order members would report his presence as soon as possible before making any move, giving Harry time to go back into the house so that Dobby could take him back to the Grangers to clean up and go back to the site-seeing via Dobby Express before Harry could be "collected".

Sure enough, Dobby reported later that Dumbledore and Moody had shown up attempting to contact Harry for the first time in a month. Several owls, including the Weasleys' Errol and Pig, were seen to arrive and then leave when there was no one present to give their messages and packages to. Harry and the Grangers had a good laugh at Dobby's description of the obsessive nature of the attempts.

* * *

Dumbledore was annoyed and distracted. He had agreed to these interviews on Thursday morning before the weapon had been sighted at his relative's home for the first time in a month. However, he knew he could not call off the meetings without arousing suspicion. He had had to send Dedalus Diggle and Fletcher Mundungus to keep an eye out for the boy as they were two of the only Order members not known to the Ministry of Magic. Both had orders to contact Harry, stunning him if needed, to get him to the Weasleys. Unfortunately, the Weasleys were at Hogwarts, being questioned and sequestered in the unfortunate potions inquiry. Having taken care of it himself, nobody the wiser, none had enough information to damage him. But still, this looked like it would take hours of his precious time to deflect. Fawkes had suddenly started looking very tired, just as he looked before a burning day. With the control runes needed during the burning so that Fawkes did not become free of the compulsions, he couldn't send him off to take messages back and forth. Albus Dumbledore was having a very bad day.

* * *

Harry and Hermione made their way into the Leaky Cauldron with two trusted Aurors as bodyguards. Amelia felt that it would look more realistic if he had escorts, even if she felt they were unneeded. Dobby and Winky were both keeping an unseen eye as well, in case the two needed a quick getaway. When Harry greeted Tom, silence fell as all of the current occupants of the pub turned their heads to get a look at their saviour. No one had seen him in public for a month and many were getting worried. The traffic was slowing down considerably in Diagon Alley as more and more stayed home.

"Mr. Potter!" Tom called enthusiastically. "Welcome back! How are you this day?"

Harry smiled, "I'm good, Tom. And it's Harry, you know that! I thought I'd do some shopping in the Alley today with my friend Hermione here. What will you be having for lunch?"

Tom had to stop himself from cheering for the information that Harry would be in the Alley a while. It would be a good day for business as gossip was the only thing that moved faster than apparition. "We'll be having Sheppard's Pie, as well as the usual fare."

"Well, that sounds good to me. I'll have to take a break from shopping to have lunch in a couple of hours. I look forward to it." Tom acknowledged him with some enthusiasm even as some of the people in the pub made their way to the floo to let their family and friends (as well as the press) know that Harry Potter was in Diagon Alley and would be in the Leaky Cauldron in a couple of very short hours.

One of the pub-goers made his way quickly to his Master's side.

* * *

Voldemort listened to the flunky as he reported what he had heard in the Cauldron.

Because Azkaban was closed to him currently and many followers were out following orders, he didn't have the resources available to stage an assault. Severus had already told him that he would be tied up with Dumbledore and the Ministry all day. He needed information and he needed it fast. He thought deeply for a moment before sending the flunky for one of his unmarked followers.

The figure made it's way before his throne and prostrated itself.

"I have a job for you. Harry Potter has been spotted in Diagon Alley. I want you to take your son and under the pretense of shopping, I want you two to keep an eye and an ear for information that will be useful to me. Use your vaunted family name," Voldemort couldn't help but smirk at this, "and use your wiles to question shopkeepers as to what they heard."

The figure nodded and answered, "Yes, milord."

Voldemort smiled cruelly and yelled, "Crucio!" After a few short seconds, he withdrew the spell and said, "Do not fail me as your husband has. That is a taste of what you both will get if you are unsuccessful. I have not marked either of you because of that blood traitor's will, but do not forget that you owe your allegiance to me alone! Now, GO!"

Narcissa Malfoy bowed again and made her way back to her home. Except for the short bout of pain, everything about this was working perfectly in her and her son's favor.

* * *

The two teenagers spent time in various shops, making themselves seen by a multitude of people. With the Aurors watching and the Order distracted, they had little worry about getting kidnapped from the Alley. They both noticed an increased amount of traffic in the Alley within an hour of their arrival. It was obvious that word had spread as many of the additional shoppers kept an inordinate amount of attention on them.

Both saw the Malfoys arrival from the Leaky Cauldron. Neither approached, but Draco nodded discretely at them when he saw Harry looking at him from a distance. As he was turning toward his mother, he did not believe anyone had seen the subtle move. The Malfoys already were going to meet them in Gringott's at 2:00 according to the return message from Sharpclaw, but apparently they had come early. As neither moved toward them or Gringott's, both Harry and Hermione assumed they had other reasons to be in the Alley today. At one point, the two had moved toward them as though unaware of their presence, but the fact that Narcissa had shook her head a little and moved away toward another shop had forestalled "accidentally" meeting.

After a visit to the Quidditch supply store, both made their way to the Cauldron for the promised lunch. It was obvious that word had gotten out as the pub was now crawling with witches and wizards, waiting to get a view of their saviour. The Aurors kept a stern eye out as Tom took them to a table he had reserved for Harry toward the back of the room after Harry had declined a private parlour.

After the two teens had sat and chatted in full view of the pub for a while, a reporter made his way to their table. The Auror, looking to Harry for some sign, allowed the reporter to approach.

"Mr. Potter. My name is Gregory Stevens. I work for the Daily Prophet. Would you mind answering a few short questions in private?"

The noise in the pub noticeably lessened as it was apparent that many were waiting to overhear what was said.

Harry looked at the reporter and said, "I don't know about private. But if the questions are reasonable, I'll answer the questions right here. I reserve the right to refuse to answer some questions. Also, if what I say gets changed, I will never give another interview to the Prophet again." The pub became even more watchful of the exchange.

The nervousness of the reporter increased. "Well, alright." The reporter took the seat Harry pointed toward and took a quill out to write in a notebook. "Mr. Potter, where have you been for the last month?"

"I have been spending time with family, as most Hogwarts students do during the summer months." Hermione hid her smile at Harry's words.

"These are your muggle relatives?"

"Yes, I have been spending time with my muggle family." He smiled briefly in Hermione's direction.

"I see you are with your long time friend. Are you two a couple?"

"Hermione Granger has been my best friend for almost five years. She has stood by me through the best and worst times. She has my full trust. And that is all I will say about that."

"How accurate have the reports been about Albus Dumbledore's mistakes?"

Harry appeared to think a moment. "Headmaster Dumbledore, while being a great wizard, has lost touch a bit with things." The reaction of the crowd at the seeming verification about what had been being said about the Hogwarts Headmaster was an almost electrified interest. "I don't have any information that would refute any of the few reports that I have seen." Harry didn't want the answer to show that he had been following the news closely.

Are you the Chosen One?"

"I don't know what that means. Has a Dark Lord taken an unholy interest in me? Yes. Have I faced him and lived to tell about it? Yes. Will I be the one to defeat him?" The tenseness in the bar increased exponentially. "I don't know." The disappointed look from the crowd was obvious. "Look. I'm just an almost 16-year-old teenager. I am doing everything I can to learn how to protect myself, my loved ones and any others that I can. Because he is so interested in me, I have to assume he will come after me again. I'm trying to make sure that I survive that encounter."

"What do you think wizards and witches should do to protect themselves?"

Harry looked around the room at the faces of the witches and wizards waiting for an answer. His stood up and he became more intense. The patrons of the bar could almost feel the magic swirling around. Finally he answered the question.

"You should learn to protect yourselves and live your lives. The Ministry can't do everything. While the Aurors and the Ministry have done a much better job since Amelia Bones took over, they can't be everywhere." He paused and looked out past the crowd for a moment in memory. "When I faced him at the end of my fourth year, there were less than 12 Death Eaters present. Although he may have more followers, they are limited in number. They can only control you through fear. If you do the right thing, not necessarily the easy thing, you can triumph." He looked back to the crowd directly. "All it takes for evil to win is for good people to do nothing. A muggle philosopher and politician said that almost 200 years ago. And it's still true. Maybe you can't fight Death Eaters, but you can support those that do. You can be careful and observant. You can support good witches and wizards instead of corrupt people who only want to make gold instead of doing their job. Do something. Anything! Don't just let a few bigoted and evil people led by a hypocrite half-blood leading a pureblood agenda stop you from prospering in your life."

Harry let the magic swirl around himself and the crowd as he repeated himself one more time.

"All it takes is for everyone to do something." And he smiled at them and said, "If you do what you can, I'll do what I can. And in the end, we'll win." The cheers followed the teens as they moved out of the Cauldron towards Gringott's. It was time to make a stand.


	19. Back to Gringotts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty much all about Gringott's. If the whys and wherefores aren't that interesting to you, sorry. I'll try to make the next chapter more interesting. But I couldn't see how to make it shorter - have to resolve some things now and it took a whole lot of words.

As Harry and Hermione made their way to Gringott's, the atmosphere in the pub was one of excitement and resolve. Many of the people who had heard the interview began to think about what they could do. Most were terrified, but decided that if a 15-year old could do something, so could they - even if the 15-year old was Harry Potter.

Harry turned his head and spoke quietly to his girlfriend. "Thanks. The speech was brilliant. I don't think I could have done that without your help."

Hermione pinked as she replied, "You're welcome. I guess reading all those books had to be good for something - even it is just speechwriting."

Harry chuckled. "Well, I'm just glad you convinced me to have a speech ready just in case. Besides," and here his face turned a little more serious, "I think you help much more than speechwriting. That Duro charm you found helped against Voldemort. There have been a few more things than just speechwriting that your research has helped on. Don't you forget it, cause I haven't."

Hermione really wished that they didn't have to hide their relationship for now, because she really wanted to snog Harry for all she was worth at that moment.

* * *

The two teenagers made their way to the front door of Gringott's. They had an appointment at 1:15 to speak to Sharpclaw before the 2:00 meeting with Draco and Narcissa Malfoy. When they entered the large white building, both were surprised to find they knew one of the guards at the door. "Greetings, Drigfang. How fare your profits today?"

Drigfang looked startled for a moment and then replied, "Profits are up, Mr. Potter. How fare your enemies?"

"My enemies lose strength daily. May your enemies' blood wet your sword."

"Thank you. May your enemies' gold find its way to your vault."

After the two teens passed, the two guards looked at each other with harsh looks which only another goblin could interpret as amusement.

The two teens made their way to a teller; once again, Harry was surprised that he knew the goblin. "Greetings, Teller Griphook. I am pleased to see you have been promoted since I first met you. Could you inform Sharpclaw that Harry Potter has arrived for our 1:15 appointment?"

Griphook, having realized that he HAD met the young walking-roast before, was pleasantly surprised to have his new status recognized. The cart drivers were low on the totem pole; teller was a higher position. "Very well, Mr. Potter. Follow me." Although the tone was brusque, Harry could see that the newest teller had been taken aback a moment. He didn't think much about it as the two teens followed the goblin to a conference room much smaller than the one used for the will reading. The two teens noticed it looked more inviting as well. "Wait here, please."

When Griphook had left, Harry turned to Hermione. "Thanks for making me study the book on goblin positions and greetings."

Hermione smiled and said, "You're welcome." The two teens, knowing they would be spending some time dealing with goblins both for the current situation and in the future, had spent hours reading about goblins and how to talk to them. This was, of course, at Hermione's insistfence. However, Harry had been much more enthusiastic about it than his schoolwork in the past - probably because of Hermione's reward system.

Very shortly, Sharpclaw himself entered the meeting room and made his way to a seat behind the desk. He glanced at the large clock on the wall, which said 1:14, and then looked to his client. "Welcome, Mr. Potter. I see that you are once again punctual. What services do you require of Gringott's?" Harry was learning, through experience, that some goblins preferred very few social niceties. Sharpclaw was one such goblin. Unlike the warriors, who seemed more gregarious - Drigfang was a good example - the senior financial officers preferred to save time as time was money.

"I wish to cover many things. First, I wish to talk about my finances and any obligations that must be met. Second, I wish to talk of hiring Gringott's to find and take care of some cursed items. And third I would like to find out possibilities of other services that might be profitable to Gringott's." Harry knew that profit was the button he had to use.

Sharpclaw looked at the young wizard for a moment. "Very well. First of all, I have been dealing with your accounts as an Inheritance Officer and Senior Manager. Due to the nature of the negotiations with the previous head of the Black family, I am bound to ensure all obligations are met during the transition period. However, an Accounts Manager will have to be appointed to take care of maintenance. Currently, there is no specified Manager as both the Potter and Black estates have had no one to directly control them before you took up your legacy. The Black estate was inactive due to its head being incarcerated, however illegally. The Potter estate waited for you to reach your majority. As a result, your accounts were managed as any other inactive account would be. In other words, ten percent of the accounts are used as investment capital, thus earning the account a nominal rate of interest. Should greater profits be expected, an Accounts Manager and possibly an assistant will be appointed."

"What position are Managers recruited from? And what fees does Gringott's charge for investment?"

"Account Managers are recruited from the Teller position. Senior Managers apprentice them for a period of seven years. The Accounts Manager typically receives two percent of profits. One percent goes to the Senior Manager during the apprenticeship. The Investors, who keep track of all stock markets, commodities markets, real estate markets, and other sources of investment advise the Accounts Manager. They typically recievfe two percent. The Ministry of Magic charges three percent for taxes. One percent of the profits goes to Gringott's to physically protect the assets."

Harry thought for a moment. "What are the advantages of keeping it an interest bearing account vs. appointing an Accounts Manager?"

Sharpclaw breifly thought about the intelligence of some humans compared to others. Most humans made their decisions without regard to sound advice from those that would be responsible for the success or failure of their investments. This had ruined more than one family - the Weasley family was a good example.

"Accounts that are very small or very large would do well to be actively invested. The very small would find this advantageous because otherwise current expenses tend to eat up the principle. Wifth an active account, up to fifty percent of the principle may be encumbered, making it not immediately available. This is both good and bad. If a client wishes to spend freely, this is not a good choice. With large accounts, those of 200,000 galleons or more, possible profit would be great incentive to the Manager to work diligently. With smaller accounts, those below 5,000 galleons, one Account Manager deals with several. Although more profitable than interest, there is not as much time for the Accounts Manager to deal with each account. Accounts between 10,000 and 200,000 galleons usually end up being encumbered too much for ready use. especially as these account sizes most often indicate shop keepers. Thus prudent usage of an interest-bearing account is recommended. There is sufficient increase in principle should a person treat their assets wisely, but the full amount is available at a moments notice."

"Is there a possibility of loss with investment?"

"Theoretically, yes. But you will find that goblins do not accept loss. It tends to lead to replacement fairly quickly." And a quick trip to the dirtiest mines or, should loss be big enough, a stew pot for the offending goblin, but that didn't need to be revealed to the client. This was one reason why those who lost money reported it quickly - the dirtiest mines were far preferable to the alternative.

Harry thought about what he had learned so far. This was much more information than he had expected at this juncture, but he would have to deal with it. "Okay, I would like to think about my choices and get back to you. Now, I have a situation which requires some speed. I would like to hire a curse-breaker, or a team, or whatever is recommended to recover and decurse some magical items."

Sharpclaw sat back for a moment. "Are these items on properties that you own?"

Harry shook his head. "The first item is definiftely not on a property I own. It belonged to a family called _Gaunt_, which has since died out."

Sharpclaw took a quill and began taking notes. "What information do you have on the curse used on the item?"

"A Native American man we consulted recently called it _wanaYisapa_, The Black Spirit. Another possible name is _Horcrux_. This was a name given the type of item in the book he referred us to. He did mention different methods of destruction. If necessary, I can see the items destroyed. I only need them collected before someone else makes the attempt."

The goblin took more notes, and then said, "As I am unfamiliar with such things, I will have to consult a curse-breaker to accurately give an amount for such services. I suspect it will be on the order of magnitude of 5,000 galleons. Additional fees might be required for any additional warriors necessary to protect the curse-breakers. I will make arrangements before the 2:00 meeting. You mentioned other services as well?"

Hermione and Harry exchanged a look. "I was discussing something with Amelia Bones recently. One of the items we discussed was the Dementors of Azkaban. She agreed that they were a poor choice to guard Azkaban, but has no other place to put them. She mentioned in our discussion that the only time a dementor has ever been destroyed was by goblin magic during an altercation in the past. Wizards are unable to destroy them. I would like to inquire as to whether Gringott's would be willing to contract out to destroy them. This idea is ours alone; Amelia Bones does not know that I am asking this. If I approach her, I wish know it is possible before I make such a proposal."

Sharpclaw sat back and looked at the wizard in front of him for a moment. He had heard many things whilst dealing with the walking roasts, but this inquiry was entirely outside of his experience. He saw no hint that this was being asked for dubious reason. Many proposals wizards made were touchy, because they reflected badly upon the goblins. Not that goblins cared what the roasts thought of them; wizards were a source of profit to the goblin mindset - food if they found themselves in conflict. This however ...

"I cannot make any statements as to this until I consult others. Do not take this as acceptance or rejection of the idea, only a delay until Gringott's can come to a consensus. Once I have consulted with those I must, I will contact you for another appointment to answer this question. Is this acceptable?"

Harry and Hermione both nodded and Harry answered. "This is perfectly acceptable and agreeable. I would like to state that I ask this as I wish to avoid my enemy, Tom Marvolo Riddle AKA Lord Voldemort, from having this resource. I also find these creatures foul and without redeeming characteristics, regardless of how they are currently used."

Sharpclaw nodded curtly. Services to aid in conflict were looked upon very favorably. Gringott's WAS run by goblins, after all. This would be interesting information for those he must consult.

"If there are no further questions, I will consult the cursebreakers so that the second item may be discussed this afternoon. Is there anything you require before the meeting?"

"No, thank you. Should we remain here or leave and return in 20 minutes when the next appointment is scheduled? And may I call my house-elf friend for refreshments?"

"You may remain here. You may take refreshment as you wish." Sharpclaw made a direct exit, not staying around for small talk. He had others to contact regarding profit, after all.

* * *

2:00 saw Narcissa Malfoy and her son Draco being escorted in to a conference room. The goblin who presided over the will-reading was present, as were Harry Potter and the girl who he apparently decided to become involved with. Also, there were four guards located around the room - more than enough to prevent hostilities between meeting-goers.

As the two entered, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger stood to receive the arrivals. After breif greetings, the four sat and waited for Sharpclaw to begin.

"Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy and Draco Malfoy. It has now been thirty days since the reading of the will of Sirius Orion Black. You must now make a choice as to whether to offer the oath required or not. What is your decision?"

Draco looked somewhat petulant to Harry's eye, but also in some way resolute rather than sullen. Narcissa looked much more enthusiastic for this. However, before Narcissa could say anything, Draco had one comment.

"I would ask that all people present in the meeting give oath to keep the information hidden until either the defeat of the Dark Lord or my 20th birthday, whichever comes first." He turned to Harry and said, "I have other obligations and I will not violate them." Narcissa blinked, but did not react otherwise.

Harry and Hermione spoke quietly for a moment and then Harry asked Sharpclaw to negotiate the wording. After a few short minutes, all four witches and wizards spoke the oath that would prevent others from finding out, even through legimency or veritaserum.

"Before I give my decision, I will say this: My godfather came to me after the will reading and I had to give an oath to him." He smirked for a moment. "The wording was something like this: _I, Draco Malfoy, give Magical Oath that I will not inform Severus Snape of any actions I take against the Dark Lord Voldemort, nor allow others to be aware of any actions."_

"Because of this oh so limiting oath, I must accept the penalty for letting my godfather or anyone else know if I take action against Voldemort." He pulled a jar out of his pocket, unscrewed the lid, counted the number of people in the room with his finger, counted out 8 knuts and placed them in the jar, and then placed the jar back into his pocket. "It gets quite expensive after a while." His smirk truly showed his Slytherin side. His mother, who sat beside him, smirked a bit as well.

Harry and Hermione sat there gobsmacked. Even the goblins looked at the pair with a bit of shock. The quiet moment was broken when Harry, soon followed by Hermione, began to laugh uproariously. After they had settled down, Draco and Narcissa both spoke the oaths that were required by the Last Will of Sirius. The meeting then got involved.

"Look, I am not a Gryffindor. I will not openly defy Voldemort. If it becomes necessary, myself and my mother will flee until such time as it is safe to return."

Harry looked at him for a moment. "Are you willing to pass on information that might aid me in my conflict?"

"As long as you cover my 'penalties', I will give you as much information as I find out. But not if it will come back to me later."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other a moment and then Harry agreed. Hermione asked a question, "I assume you will act all superior as normal at Hogwarts?"

Draco sneered. "Of course; I AM superior." Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes. "Look, I am not taking up your cause. I am only doing this because I don't agree with my father following some half-blood moron like he is the second coming of Slytherin. I am not siding with 'The Light' or the muggle-loving fool. I am agreeing to the conditions because it is in my and my mother's best interest."

Harry nodded. "I can agree with that." He looked at both Malfoys. "Personally, I don't care what people believe. We will probably never totally agree with each other, and that's fine with me. I'm not Voldemort" small flinches "OR Dumbledore. I don't think that everyone has to agree with my view of the 'Greater Good' or 'Supremacy'. I'll leave that to the megaflomaniacs. I just want to live my life in peace. I DO plan on seeing the Wizarding World progress beyond the 18th century, but politics will have to wait until this conflict is done."

Narcissa looked at her her new Head of House and said, "I believe that is perfectly acceptable to both myself and my son. I will avoid working against you directly as you are now Head of House Black. But I will not work against my son either when he becomes Head of House Malfoy, which hopefully will be sooner rather than later." All at the table, except Sharpclaw, nodded. "Now, I was ordered to tail you today by the Dark Lord. It coincided with our plans, so I did not disagree or attempt to get out of it. What should I report?"

Hermione whispered in Harry's ear. "I would think that you should report that I met up with a friend, since all of the Leaky Cauldron saw me with Hermione today, and that I appeared to be shopping. Did you hear the speech at the Leaky Cauldron?" Narcissa nodded. "Tell him that I said I was just a teenager and it was up to everyone. Emphasize my lack of desire to be looked at as anything more than a student. It's obvious the papers wills print what I said, so don't say anything that is untrue. I'm sure you can put the proper slant on it."

Narcissa agreed and all four stood. Narcissa bowed to Harry as her Head of House, although Draco just nodded his head at the two Gryffindors. Harry bowed back more briefly as he was technically a higher rank and then nodded his head at Draco.

Once the two Malfoys left, the leader of the guard asked Sharpclaw if they were still needed. When Sharpclaw began dismissing them, Harry called out. "My thanks, Noble Warriors. May your enemies' blood stain your blades when the battle is finished."

The leader of the four warriors nodded his head and replied, "May your enemies' become but a memory." The four then filed out of the room. Sharpclaw looked at Harry brieffly and then said, "The curse-breaker will join us shortly."

Harry nodded, and then added, "My thanks, Sharpclaw. Might I offer refreshment while we wait?"

Sharpclaw was almost annoyed with the pleasantries. The only reason he wasn't more annoyed was because they had to wait anyway, and the customs of the wizards were not completely unpleasant when there was no time lost. "I accept."

Harry called out to Dobby. When the elf popped in, Harry said, "Can you bring tea for myself, Hermione and leave the pot? I would like you to bring the special recipe for Sharpclaw as well." Sharpclaw was slightly intrigued.

Dobby popped out and then popped back in with a tea service. In addition, he brought a carafe with a different drink for the goblin. Harry took the carafe and poured it into a cup he placed in front of the goblin. The goblin smelled the drink and was surprised at how pleasant it was to his nose. He took a cautious sip and the drink was shockingly good to his palette. "This is very good! What is it?"f

Harry smiled briefly. "When I was in the Colonies, we stopped at a petrol-station. Coffee is very popular there. Most of the coffee was what most humans prefer, but there was a sign for coffee that had been brewed differently. Most humans find it too harsh - they would say it was 'burnt'. I asked the person who ran the place about it. The reason for the pot being there was for a marine - a human warrior - who was a regular who preferred it that way. In looking up goblin customs, I found that goblins prefer ... a much stronger flavor to their drinks. Because I knew I would be here today, I had my friend brew a pot to offer if it was convenient. I tried it and found I could drink it but it wasn't to my taste. It seemed to fit what I learned, so I decided to give it a try."

Sharpclaw nodded as he drank his sludge. He would have to get the instructions on making this. He couldn't understand not liking such a distinctive taste. Humans were very strange. "You can keep the carafe, as it was made for you." Sharpclaw nodded his thanks as he enjoyed the interesting drink.

Shortly thereafter, a familiar face entered the room. The two teenagers stood and welcomed him. "Samael! It's good to see you again." Harry shook the cursebreakers hand.

Samael Lufkin, the cursebreaker who removed the soul frangment a month ago from Harry, greeted him warmly in return. "It's good to see you too, Mr. Potter. I say, you're looking much better than you did a month ago."

"The product of a pleasant summer." Samael shook Hermione's hand as well and then sat at the table, accepting a cup of tea when offered. The two wizards and the witch then gave their attention to Sharpclaw.

"Mr. Lufkin, Mr. Potter here is the client who submitted the inquiry into the removal of a cursed item. Have you reviewed the notes I gave you?" Sharpclaw asked this expecting full well that the Gringott's employee had.

"Of course. Your estimate of 5000 galleons seemed proper." He turned toward the young wizard. "Where exactly is this item again?"

"According to my source, it is in a place called The Gaunt Shack. I was hoping that there would be some records available to find it." They turned toward Sharpclaw, who called out into the hall. Another goblin came in and gave him a stack of parchments. The goblin then withdrew as Sharpclaw perused the documents in front of him.

"According to our records, the Gaunt family died out 50 years ago. They lived in a hovel in Little Hangleton."

Harry thought for a moment. "Is there any record of a graveyard in the area?"

Sharpclaw looked again, finding an old map of the area. "There is a muggle-owned manor in the area with a family graveyard. The name on the muggle manor is Riddle."

Harry felt like crowing. "That's it! Voldemort's father was Tom Riddle. What was the name of the Gaunts?"

Sharpclaw looked over the records again. "The father was named Marvolo. The son was named Morfin - he died in Azkaban. There was a daughter named Merope. She disappeared nearly 70 years ago. It was later reported that she had died in childbirth."

"Well, I think this is the place. According to my sources, there is a cursed item located in the shack. It holds a piece of Voldemort's soul. This is one item of several. Can Gringott's retrieve the item? I can destroy it myself, but I don't know enough to avoid any magical traps."

Samael sat back and thought about it. "Well, there could be any number of curses. It would take a team a day to retrieve it. It might be much faster, but I prefer to take my time if possible. I've had experience with such things in old tombs. What kind of item is it?"

Harry shook his head. "It could be anything. There's even a chance there's nothing. The source only knew that it was likely that there was an item there."

"Well, it's 2000 galleons to inspect, 2000 galleons to retrieve any items and 1000 galleons to remove all curses. All efforts will be made to not destroy the item unless necessary."

"Okay, that sounds good to me. Is there some contract necessary?"

Sharpclaw took a moment to add some notes to a parchment that was already filled out. He then turned the contract around so Harry could read it. Both Harry and Hermione looked it over and then Harry signed it and returned it to Sharpclaw. Sharpclaw reviewed the signature and signed it himself.

"Very well. I will contact you when the contract has been completed. I will also contact you when I have more information on your earlier inquiry. Is there anything else for today?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other before shaking their heads. "No, that's all. I will contact you as well when we make a decision on the management of my accounts. May gold flow freely into your vaults."

Sharpclaw nodded and replied, "May your enemies make you rich."

The group then moved to exit the room and the bank. The two teens moved quickly to depart back to the Grangers while Sharpclaw made arrangements for the jobs that had to be done.


	20. Punishing a House Elf

** _HARRY POTTER SEEN IN DIAGON ALLEY: Answers Questions about Being the Chosen One_ **

_Yesterday afternoon, Harry Potter was spotted in Diagon Alley, shopping for personal items. In the company of his best friend, Potter was asked where he had been and indicated he had been spending his summer with his Muggle family. Daily Prophet Reporter Gary Stephens interviewed …._

Albus Dumbledore cursed as he read the Sunday edition of the Daily Prophet.

Harry Potter had spent a good portion of the day before in Diagon Alley: prancing about, talking to reporters, talking to the average witches and wizards that had been present. The quote he had given about being the Chosen One was quite nice – if Albus had wanted the weapon to become permanently popular. He had no desire for such a result.

Albus had plans for Harry's ultimate reward: A lifelong stay Azkaban Prison or death. After Tom was taken care of, he would no longer need the boy and he could be sent away on trumped up charges. Once an heir was secured, the boy would be an inconvenience.

However, if things like this were to happen, it would be much more difficult to achieve his goal.

He sent a message to Molly. The boy had been seen and it was only 4 days until his birthday. It would be expected that he would contact the Weasleys before then.

* * *

Harry and Hermione looked around at the decrepit entryway. Remus and Tonks had apparated the two to 12 Grimmauld Place so that Harry could take control of his godfather's/adopted father's house. Today was their day to "keep an eye out" and Harry wanted to get it taken care of now rather than later.

It was obvious that the place had started to deteriorate again.

Harry was really of two minds about this visit. He wanted to remember Sirius, but this place had been a prison of sorts. As a result, he didn't feel as comfortable coming here as he had hoped.

Tonks tripped on the Troll Leg umbrella stand and cursed. Suddenly, the curtains covering the portrait nearby opened.

"BLOOD TRAITORS! Once again the Noble House of Black is besmirched by Half-Bloods and Blood Traitors!" There was more invective of a similar type which followed. Harry tried to close the curtains.

Suddenly, the miserable house elf which lived at the home appeared. "Mistress is being disturbed. Filthy Half Blood and Mudblood have returned with the Disgrace and the Animal. Kreacher thought that …."

Kreacher made it no further before Harry, having heard what he was saying yelled: "SHUT UP!"

Suddenly Kreacher could no longer speak. He looked at Harry in horror, realizing that he had a new master.

Harry looked at Kreacher and got a very evil grin. Remus, seeing this, only could say, "Damn. I remember James with that look a few times."

Hermione was worried. She knew how much Harry hated Kreacher for his part in Sirius' death.

Harry called out: "Winky! Dobby!" Two pops sounded in the hall.

Dobby looked at Harry with full adoration. "Master Harry Potter Sir calls Dobby and Winky?"

Harry turned to the two elves. "Yes. Can you two help me out or would that provide too many security concerns with your current orders."

Winky volunteered, "Madam Bonesy is at Ministry with Aurors. I can asks to put up House Elf Wards and follow Madam Bonesy only when she be traveling. Madam Bonesy's Tipi be watching when she be at home."

Dobby was more enthusiastic. "Dobby can be cleaning Harry Potter Sir's Grangey's home at night and be cooking only during daytime!"

Harry groaned to himself. Dobby's enthusiasm would make him work 24 hours if he didn't put a stop to it. "No, that's okay. I have a new job for you." He turned to watch Kreacher as he made his orders known. "Winky, please tell Madam Bones that you will only be following her when she travels and to call you when she does. Dobby, please make sure you get enough sleep. Clean at Hermione's house in the morning and cook the meals. When you aren't doing those thing, I would like your help cleaning my adopted father's house. It's obvious that Kreacher is getting too old to do it himself. Make sure he's well-fed and well-rested and doesn't do any more work than he can. I want you to treat Kreacher as though he was an old wizard or witch with all of the problems they might have. Can you do that?"

Kreacher was looking at Harry in horror as he made his orders. To be treated as though he was a lazy wizard!

"Oh, and any Dark artifacts, put them in the cellar away from everything. I'll have a curse-breaker check things over."

Dobby and Winky nodded enthusiastically and popped out.

"Kreacher, I don't want you to strain yourself, so you will relax and not do any work. I'll check back in a few days and see how things are going."

Harry led the other three back out of the house and then chortled. The others were looking at him like he was crazy. "It's punishment. House elves hate doing nothing, even if Kreacher really has been doing that already. To be _ordered_ to do nothing – that's entirely different."

Remus looked at Harry in awe. "Wow. That's evil." He then grinned. "I like it!"

Harry grinned. "Plus, now I can spend more time with my girlfriend."

Hermione smiled. She could have protested, but she had learned much more about house elves and it was obvious that Harry's punishment didn't violate her own sense of rightness.

Tonks and Remus rolled their eyes as they apparated the two teens back to Hermione's home.

* * *

Molly Weasley cursed when she read the Daily Prophet's lead story. Harry had spent time with Ron's mudblood in Diagon Alley. She was heartened to read that he had been spending the summer with his muggle family. This meant that he would be grateful to come to the Burrow. But spending time with the mudblood and not her childred? That had to stop. Arthur tried to calm her down about it, but it wasn't working.

She moved to call the kids down for a meeting. Steps would have to be taken. Luckily, the twins were nor the older two were around. She wanted them all here when Harry came, but the fact that he wasn't here yet was convenient.

* * *

Severus Snape rolled the glass of firewhiskey in his hand as he contemplated his next step. Potter had been seen and he still hadn't contacted the Order of the Phoenix or Albus Dumbledore. He had been positively cunning in his avoidances. Perhaps the Potter spawn wasn't as useless as he appeared to be in the past.

The Potion's Master looked at the pile of notes he had made. It included major occurences as well as random things which seemed unimportant to Dumbledore, or which he deemed that Dumbledore would ignore. However, there was valuable information there.

Finally, he finished off his glass and pulled a parchment sheet in front. He began writing:

_Mr. Potter,_

_Tomorrow I will be traveling to Gringott's to complete my oath. At that point, I will be sending this to you via the Goblin Sharpclaw. With my godson, Draco, making his choices, my own have become much clearer._

_Attached you will find .._


	21. Banking Business, Goblin Culture

Harry awoke on Tuesday feeling quite happy. Last night he and Hermione had spent a good amount of time exploring each other with more than hands and he decided that it was quite brilliant. As he lay in bed wrapped around his girlfriend, his hand cupping her bare upper portions, he decided that this had been the best summer of his life.

Suddenly, he heard a pop. He looked over from his current position to see Winky standing there. "Master Harry Potter Sir! Mistresses parents told Winky to come and get Master Harry and Mistress Hermione for breakfast. They's be leaving for work soon!"

Harry groaned quietly but said, "Thank you, Winky. Tell them that we will be down soon." After Winky popped out, he looked down and saw that Hermione's eyes were open. He kissed her neck. "Time to get up, Luv."

Hermione sighed and then smiled at Harry. "I know. But I was having too much fun lying here. I really like waking up like this."

Harry grinned. He pressed his morning wood harder against her bum and said, "Me too." Hermione blushed a bit but grinned as well. "Still, it would be rude to not see Robert and Emma off."

Hermione sighed but began to get out of bed – deliberately moving against Harry as she did so. Harry groaned even as he smiled. At this rate, he'd need a cold shower before meeting Hermione's parents downstairs. Both knew that the two were intimate but he didn't like showing THAT much off.

Later, Harry and Hermione were eating breakfast when an owl arrived. Harry looked the owl over and saw the Gringotts crest it wore on a leg band. He took the letter, thanked the owl, and offered it some bacon. The owl hooted in negation and then took off.

Hermione looked at Harry curiously, waiting to hear what the message was about. Harry read it over and looked at Hermione. "Well, today we're going to Gringotts."

After finishing their meal and their morning routines, Harry called for Winky and Dobby to take them to Diagon Alley. He would use clandestine means when needed, but he also wanted people to see that he was unafraid to be seen in public.

The two walked calmly down Diagon Alley toward Gringotts. The message he had received indicated that Sharpclaw had something to be passed on. When the two arrived to the door, Harry recognized one of the goblins as another from the squad that had helped in his ritual, even if he didn't remember the name. He nodded as the goblin opened the door for them. "It is good to see you again, Warrior. Honor and health to you."

The goblin grinned in its scary fashion and replied, "Victory and profit to you, Mr. Potter."

The two walked in and informed a teller that they were there to meet with Sharpclaw. The two were led to his office.

"Profit and Strength, Sharpclaw. I received your owl this morning."

Sharpclaw nodded at his visitors. "Profit and Long Life, Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger. Yes, Mr. Snape arrived yesterday and completed his oath. Upon doing so, he asked me to deliver a missive which he reported contained information that would benefit your position. Your continued prosperity helps with our continued prosperity, and so I owled you immediately." He picked up an envelope from his desk and handed it to Harry. "In addition, the Curse-breakers have reported that they began work last night to inspect the Gaunt property and recover any items as described. As soon as I have word, I will pass it along."

Harry nodded as he opened the envelope. "Thank you." He glanced over the letter on top of the notes before putting it back inside the envelope temporarily. "I wish to look this over in detail while I am here in case something might require a Gringotts' service, but I also wanted to deal with another matter today as well."

Sharpclaw motioned Harry to continue. "Three years ago, I was involved in an incident at Hogwarts where I had to face and kill a very large magical creature. I wanted to find out if Gringotts would be interested in providing services to retrieving its remains and possibly acting as agent for the sale from the proceeds."

Sharpclaw thought about it. "We do provide the services you ask for, but I do not know if three years isn't too long for retrieval. What was the creature?"

Harry grinned a bit as he said, "Salazar Slytherin's basilisk."

Sharpclaw almost stopped breathing. However he suppressed his reaction, lest he give away too much. "And how large was this creature?"

Harry thought about it. "When I discussed this with a butcher in America by the name of Hookblade, I said it was about forty feet long. Afterwards, I considered it and realized it was more likely closer to sixty." Sharpclaw was almost salivating at the thought of such a find. "He happened to mention that only dwarves and your people eat such meat. He also explained how aging the meat might increase its value. Anyway, I thought that possibly Gringotts or a particular goblin clan might wish to actually buy the meat outright rather than selling it. I would be amenable to such an agreement."

Sharpclaw's face took on an unreadable look. He said, "Please wait while I consult others. I will return shortly."

Harry nodded. He and Hermione stood while Sharpclaw left the office.

Hermione said to Harry, "Let's look at the package while he is away." Harry nodded and retrieved the package of parchment. The two looked through the notes that Snape had put together. Harry was startled when he came across a note about a passing comment from Bellatrix. He pointed it out to Hermione and she agreed that, considering Malfoy and the Diary, it was something to talk to Sharpclaw about.

Very shortly thereafter, Sharpclaw came back to the office trailed by two other goblins. One was an older goblin who was introduced as Grimclaw. The other was familiar. "Hello, Dripfang! How fares your clan's health today?"

Dripfang grinned at the wizard. "My clan is healthy and strong. How fare's your family's wealth?"

Harry smiled in response. "Increasing all of the time, thanks to Gringotts and Sharpclaw here."

After the pleasantries were completed, Sharpclaw quoted a fee for the retrieval of the basilisk. He then said, "Grimclaw here wishes to negotiate buying the basilisk meat directly for his clan. I cannot provide advice as I am also a part of the Claw clan. Dripfang has agreed to provide you advice as requested. I asked him as I was aware that you and he have a somewhat cordial relationship and he would be neutral in our dealings."

Harry nodded and thanked Dripfang. The negotiations began.

When the negotiations had completed, Grimclaw and Harry both signed the contract for the basilisk meat that might be recovered from the carcass minus twenty three pounds that Harry had set aside for gifts. Dripfang got three, the other guards that had helped at the ritual each got two, Griphook got one, Sharpclaw got three personally, and three were to be sent to Hookblade with Harry's compliments.

Grimclaw left the office with a recording of Harry saying Open in Parseltounge and clear directions as to how to access the Chamber of Secrets.

Dripfang also rose to leave. He was very happy with the result of the time spent. "Thank you for the gift to my squad. We shall toast your clan as we feast upon your victory spoils."

Harry bowed respectfully and cheerfully said, "You have my thanks and my gratitude. May your blade ever find the blood of your foes."

Dripfang bowed back and replied, "May your foes' gold find its way to your vaults." He then left.

Sharpclaw then said to Harry, "I would like to propose that we come to an agreement regarding a manager for your accounts."

Harry nodded. "Your thoughts?"

Sharpclaw replied, "You get along well with teller Griphook, as evidenced by one of your gifts. I propose he apprentice under my direction with the payscale as laid out when we first discussed this several weeks ago."

Harry turned to Hermione, "What do you think?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's your money. If you get along, go for it."

Harry grinned, "I'm just asking because eventually it's likely it will be your money too."

Hermione blushed as she said, "Well, umm, okay." She was very taken aback by Harry's words. Certainly she had fantasized about a future with Harry, but they hadn't been so blunt about it in the past. "I agree with the suggestion. You get on well with the teller and Sharpclaw has been honorable and honest. I'd say to trust him."

Harry nodded. "Good enough for me." He turned to Sharpclaw. "Put together a contract and I will review it when it's ready."

"When you next visit about our other business, I will have the contract ready. Is there anything else?"

Harry took out the note he had found from Severus but held onto it for the moment. "I need to find out Gringotts' policy on storing magical items."

Sharpclaw sat back and said, "Gringotts, for the most part, does not regulate what can be stored in a vault. If the fees are paid and Gringotts and its employees are not threatened, any item may be stored in a vault."

Harry paused. "What constitutes a threat?"

Sharpclaw looked at Harry suspiciously. "Is there some item that you have in mind to store here?"

Harry shook his head. "No. In Severus Snape's notes, something struck me as he mentioned a magical item that is currently stored in Gringotts. The owner of the vault, however, might have stored an item which IS dangerous, both to Gringotts and to magicals in general. I was wondering if you were the proper avenue to report it."

Sharpclaw looked at Harry shrewdly. "You wish to take hold of this item?"

Harry shook his head again. "No. I would like to see it cleansed of any malicious magic. I don't need to own it, only get the harmful magics destroyed or dispelled. The item itself can remain where it is, for all that I care."

Sharpclaw sat back and contemplated this. If the wizard did not want the item taken but only cleansed of harmful magics, did it really violate the terms of the vault contract? "What is the nature of the curse?"

Harry said, "Do you remember our discussion on _wanaYisapa_, or _horcruxes_?" Sharpclaw nodded. "We have reason to suspect that the item in question is one of these. It might be dangerous if goblins or others are around it for any length of time."

Sharpclaw considered this. "Would this be true for the item we are contracted to retrieve from the Gaunt Shack?"

Harry shook his head. "The contract specifies that if it isn't safe to store or deliver, it would be destroyed. According to the book I have, such a short exposure is not likely to be a problem. If a goblin, however, were to work in the vicinity for any length of time … well, the vault is _inside_ Gringotts."

Sharpclaw paused as he weighed the information. "What is the title of the book?" He noted the title down. "I will consult those I must regarding this. If they decide that it is in our best interest to take action, I will inform you. What is the item?"

"There is a Cup in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault that she was directed by Voldemort to store here. That is according to these notes." He handed the page with the item over to Sharpclaw to review. After reading it and making a copy, he returned the original to Harry. "If it's a matter of fees, I will cover it."

Sharpclaw replied, "If we decide to take action and it is as you say, the fees would be taken from the vault in question. If we take action and there is no cursed item, you would be charged a penalty for making a false claim."

Harry nodded. That was fair. "I would like to contract to take care of it. I will pay the inspection fee and the disposal fee if the item is as described. I would prefer the vault holder not be notified for as long as possible. If the information is released too early, it would create much conflict."

Sharpclaw countered, "I will write the contract for the inspection fee. If something is found, fees will come from the vault. We will wait until the vault holder arrives to report the fees applied, keeping your name and your involvement out of it. It will be reported that the curse was found on a routine inspection. We will imply that the action was taken in the past so as not to alert your foes that someone is moving against him. It would be more profitable to us if your accounts did not return to maintenance mode. We do not get involved in Wizards' conflicts when we can avoid it. It is simply in our best interest that we enforce the contract that all vault holders agree to."

Harry asked Hermione if she had any other ideas. Hermione said, "What if the vault holder attacks Gringotts somehow for acting? It would be better for you if she knew exactly who instigated this. Harry is already in danger from Voldemort." Hermione barely stuttered when saying the name. "Harry taking responsibility might prevent any of your people from being attacked." Harry nodded in agreement when the point was brought up.

Sharpclaw gave a predatory grin – if only a very small one. "While I appreciate, as I'm sure my elders will, your attempts to avoid embroiling our people in this, it does not change that we would be acting as the contract dictates. If a wizard or witch attacks in response? It would be stupid wizard to attack us. Their contract would be violated, their assets seized, and we would have just cause to retaliate. Our Warriors would be most put out for not letting them have their fun when they can. Gringotts and our employees will act as I suggested. You shall not be involved."

Harry nodded, calming Hermione down with a touch to her arm. While he agreed with Hermione and her desire to protect others from unnecessary risk, he could also see Sharpclaw's position on the matter. It would help if Voldemort found out only to be misdirected as to the source of the information. He said to Sharpclaw, "I'll sign."

Hermione finally agreed reluctantly. Only that Harry would be safer allowed her to drop it so quickly or easily.

Sharpclaw filled in a standard inspection contract, stipulating that if nothing harmful to Gringotts was found Harry would pay it. Otherwise, the fees would be charged to the vault holder at a standard "penalty" rate. Sharpclaw was happy with the contract. They would be paid regardless. Gringotts would actually make more if something WAS found. It was good profit.

Harry looked it over, had Hermione look it over, and then he signed it. Sharpclaw also signed it and then sent it on to those who would fulfill it.

Finally, Harry looked at Hermione. "Anything else you can think of?"

Hermione shook her head. "Nothing needing immediate attention."

Harry nodded. "Is there anything else, Sharpclaw?"

Sharpclaw nodded. "The question regarding dementors. I have consulted those that were needed and can report that Gringotts would be willing to negotiate with the current Minister regarding their destruction."

Harry smiled. He had forgotten he had asked – it had only been a passing idea. "I will let Amelia Bones know. Who should she contact?"

"She should be directed to myself. I will take her to the required person."

Harry agreed. "Thank you. I do not know if it will take place, but I will suggest it. Gringotts would profit and my enemy would be denied the resource." Sharpclaw grinned to himself. Profit and the confounding of enemies was good motivation to a goblin. Perhaps there were some walking roasts that were like minded. "Is there anything else?"

Sharpclaw replied, "Not at this time. I will contact you as information becomes available on current or future business."

Harry and Hermione stood. "My thanks to you and Gringotts then. May you acquire the need for a larger vault."

Sharpclaw also stood. "May your enemies become the cause of your feasting."

Harry suppressed the slight shudder that such a platitude implied. He liked the goblins' sense of fair play – he didn't want to live like one.

Hermione and Harry were allowed to use the internal apparition station to depart via house elf. Once the two had left, Sharpclaw made his way to his Clan Chief's office after picking up the special item he needed. He knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Sharpclaw entered. "Greetings Claw Chief Grimclaw. I have brought refreshment for a celebration."

Grimclaw nodded cheerfully. "Come in, Claw Elder. What do you have for us?"

Sharpclaw started pouring from the carafe he had brought. "A most distinctive drink that the walking roast we just met with brought to my attention. I think you will enjoy it."

Grimclaw smelled the contents of the cup in front of him. He grinned. "A most distinctive smell!" He tried it. "A most excellent taste! What is this?"

Sharpclaw grinned at his Chief. "A human drink called _coffee_ brewed specifically for the palate of a warrior. The average roast cannot handle it." The two goblins raised their cups to each other and enjoyed the bitter and strong taste.

"That was a good catch, Clan Elder. Our clan will make a tidy profit from that contract."

Sharpclaw bowed in acknowledgement for the praise. Honesty compelled him to make a confession. "Thank you Claw Chief. The walking roast actually suggested it to me before I could offer. It was unfortunate that we only found out after the roast had talked to a Blood butcher regarding the value of the meat and the value of aging it."

Grimclaw made a face. "Damn Blood clan. Their living amongst those of the wide plains across the sea has made them too garrulous. While I applaud them achieving their recognized status there, their culture is too open to hide advantages we guard here. The extra 1000 galleons per hundredweight was an annoyance."

Sharpclaw sighed in agreement. "While I am learning that some roasts might not deserve the pot, the vast majority of them still would look better on a platter than in a chair."

Grimclaw laughed.

Sharpclaw's face took on a particular look that his Clan Chief rather enjoyed. "Still, we will have a legitimate contact in the wide plains to sell our recent purchase. When the time comes to deliver the roast's gift, I will deliver it personally and negotiate. With such a large amount of meat, diversifying markets will allow us to make it rarer in each individual market. Thus, more profit."

Grimclaw nodded enthusiastically. "An excellent strategy, Honored Elder! Let us look forward to completing this contract." The two clinked their cups together in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought the chapter yesterday was too short, so I added this today. The different clans names include Claw, Blood, Hook, Fang, Fist, Shard, etc. Goblin society in this fic isn't as monolithic as most fanfics imply. Even the British goblins recognize that the American goblins have a different culture because of circumstance and environment.
> 
> Besides: Goblins are always fun to write about.


	22. Harry's Birthday Celebration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The other site deleted my chapters. So for those who are offended easily, please ignore the sections labeled as Lemons. As it was much more about the romance when I started writing this story four years ago, I decided that the little … demonstrations from that romance were appropriate.

Early on Wednesday, 31 July, Harry woke up in his now customary position: He was spooned against a mostly naked Hermione with his groin nested against her bum and his hand grasping her chest.

He leaned over and kissed her neck. Hermione reacted to that and groaned in approval.

"Good morning, Hermione."

Hermione opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder. "Good morning, Harry. Harry Birthday."

Harry smiled. "Thank you. It's going to be time to get up soon – your mum and dad have to work this morning so we should really see them off."

Hermione smiled at her boyfriend, had a wicked thought, and then looked at the clock. "Well, it's forty minutes before they're off. We should shower first."

Hermione pecked Harry on the lips – morning breath prevented much more than that – and then Hermione moved to get out of bed. If she deliberately rubbed against him, he didn't complain.

The two moved into the bathroom and Hermione handed Harry the mouthwash. He took a bit and handed it back to her. She did as he did and then they both rinsed. "We'll brush after the shower." The two kissed more fully then. "Now, come help me wash my hair."

The two entered the shower and Harry helped her wash her thick, full hair. He massaged her scalp while doing this and she hummed in enjoyment. After rinsing, Hermione turned toward Harry and said, "Time for your birthday treat." She had a wicked grin.

*************** WARNING: LEMON (Skip if easily offended) *************

Hermione dropped to her knees in front of Harry and looked at his member. She looked up at him, smiling, while moving her hand up and down on it.

She then kept his eyes locked by holding them with her own as she deliberately moved her head forward and took him in her mouth.

Soon, he couldn't keep his eyes open. Hermione became much more enthusiastic in her motions until she felt his bum clench under the hand she was using for balance.

After his release, she grinned up at him until he opened his eyes. She opened her mouth, showing, and then deliberately swallowed.

"Naughty minx."

"Just for you, love."

************* End Lemon 1 **************

The two complete washing and repeated the mouth wash in addition to brushing their teeth. By the time they made it down stairs, Emma and Robert were just finalizing their preparations.

Emma said, "Happy Birthday, Harry. We'll be finished with appointments after lunch. What are you two going to be doing?"

Hermione replied, "Checking a few more books. Have to be ready for the new term, after all."

Robert and Emma grinned. Whatever else that could ever be said about their daughter, _unprepared_ was not one of them. "Well, all right then. We'll see you at approximately two."

Emma hugged and kissed both teens and Robert hugged Hermione, kissing her forehead, and side-hugged Harry. Harry was getting a bit old to be comfortable with hugging men directly.

And the two did as they had told the parents: They studied and prepared for the next year. At two o'clock, Emma and Robert returned and the four went out to a late lunch. At 3:00, Remus arrived to the pub that he, Harry, Neville, and Robert had gone out to earlier in the summer. Tonks came with him.

"Okay. To keep out of sight of the Order, we're going to portkey in. Any questions?"

Emma turned to Hermione. "Portkey? Isn't that where you spin like a top through the air?"

Hermione said, "That's what it feels like anyway."

Remus said, "Just keep your legs moving like you're walking and you should land on your feet, just like a floo connection."

Harry, who had been listening to this, cursed. When everyone looked at him he said, "Why didn't anyone ever tell me? I've had problem with pretty much all magical travel except brooms since I came back into the magical world!"

Remus looked at Harry shocked. "Honestly, I thought you knew. It's one of those things everyone knows."

Harry scoffed and was a bit put out for a bit, but soon other things distracted him.

The group arrived in the hallway of Number 12. Harry looked around and whistled – it looked much better.

"Dobby! Winky!"

The two house elves popped in. "Master Harry! You's called?"

"Great job on the place you two. It looks wonderful." He then remembered something. "What happened to the painting?"

"Dobby and Winky moves it! Nasty Kreacher elf was angry that Dobby and Winky didn't allow him to leave his room. Master told Dobby and Winky to treat him like old wizard. Dobby and Winky heard painting call for Kreacher and so Dobby and Winky move painting to Kreacher." His eyes drooped. "Did Dobby and Winky do bad?"

Harry looked at the elves incredulously – as did the others who had been there previously. "Absolutely not!" Dobby's ears immediately perked up. "That is excellent! I am more than satisfied." He paused and then grinned evilly. "How has Kreacher been doing? Is he more rested?"

Dobby and Winky both nodded eagerly. Winky interjected, "Yes! Kreacher be staying in bed because Winky make him! Winky knows that old wizards be yelling and screaming but not really need help, so Winky be treating Kreacher like old wizard like Master says! Winky puts quiet spell on walls so that Winky and Dobby work without being interrupted!"

Harry looked at Hermione, then Tonks, then Remus – and then all of them started laughing – Tonks and Harry the loudest. Emma and Robert were a bit confused.

"What's so funny?"

Harry grinned a bit evilly as he said, "Kreacher is the house elf here. He's been letting things go for so long that I ordered him to rest like an old wizard. He hasn't been allowed to do any work."

The two muggle parents nodded, still confused.

"Well, house elves like to work. Being ordered not to work is quite different than not working. It's a bit of punishment for his role in helping to spring the trap that Hermione, me, and the four others walked into back in June."

The two parents were about to get angry that any being was being mistreated – as odd as it sounded that forced rest was mistreatment. Until they heard the last bit.

Their daughter had been horribly wounded in that situation. The idea of punishing the house elf seemed much more palatable then. And it wasn't like Harry was beating this Kreacher, right?

The six made their way into the dining room – and were greeted by a call of "Surprise!"

There were a number of magicals present. The twins, Susan, Hannah, Neville, Luna, and Professor McGonagall were all there.

A great time was had by all. Professor McGonagall delievered the OWL results that hadn't made it to them as they were out of town.

Hermione squealed when she read hers. Harry and her traded.

Hermione had gotten Os on everything except Defense – she had been caught out by the examiner on a couple of practical charms and the Defense OWL was the toughest. Harry was the one who could think on his feet as regards Defense and put it all together in a blink of an eye.

Harry had achieved an O on Defense; Es on Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures; an A on Astronomy; and, a P on Divination. He didn't care about divination anyway.

Harry sighed when he read it. "Well, that's the end of the Auror track."

Professor McGonagall said, "Why do you say that?"

"Because you said that Professor Snape only allows students to move to NEWTs with an Outstanding on the Potions OWL."

"Yes, but I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of your being accepted just yet. Bring the books with you. At worst, you can use them for independent study."

Harry shrugged and grinned. It cost little to be prepared.

The rest of the party was a great success. Upon speaking to the two elves, he found that there were a number of items that had to be put in the attic as Dark. He told them to box the items and he would see if Gringotts could handle them.

* * *

Alastor, acting on the orders of Albus Dumbledore, inspected several properties. The Dursleys were home but he still didn't see the boy. The Granger girl's family wasn't home, apparently, but he saw no indications there. (House elf wards were wonderful things.) There was no sighting in Diagon. (Alastor had stayed a couple of hours at the Cauldron during the most likely times.) He did notice that the Weasley twins' shop only had the witches they had hired on hand. Amelia's house now had too many guards to surreptitiously check – he assumed that's where the lad was as she was now his magical guardian.

He shrugged and sent his Patronus off to Albus to give the report before he made his way home. There were no meetings or other things to do that day and he was looking forward to a quiet night.

* * *

Harry, Hermione, Emma, and Robert were returned to the pub after the party and then made their way out. They were going to see a film before ending the day. Harry, as the birthday boy, picked Independence Day. (He didn't think he could get away with Striptease – that Yank woman was very hot on the poster but he was still only 16.)

After a rousing story of overcoming unbelievable odds, he was a bit hyped. There were a few things that gave him some ideas (the idea of doing something to drop wards unexpectedly came from the virus which dropped the shields), but the group really watched it more for entertainment than anything else.

They returned home and Harry decided that it was the best birthday he had ever had.

* * *

Ginny had moved on in her planning. It was obvious the Headmaster and her parents had no control over Harry. Whatever. Her silly crush was a childhood fantasy and she had grown far beyond it. Harry wasn't that special. And Hermione seemed to have him locked up.

Unlike the rest of her family, she had no desire to work so hard to control Harry. She only cared that she found a rich husband who was pliable.

Harry was no longer pliable. Therefore, Ginny would move on.

Maybe she could just tell the two that and she could ignore the drama. Should she confront them on the Express?

She knew that whatever else Hermione was, she was very rational. And Harry would listen to Hermione. Besides, if necessary, she could spy on her parents, Ron, Percy, and the Headmaster – as long as she received a Golden Handshake.

Her complete lack of a moral compass was only a liability if she did something stupid. Her Gryffindor honesty would have to carry the day.

* * *

Molly Weasley was incensed. It was obvious now, that the two teenagers were avoiding her children. Her reaction at the will reading seemed to have put them off. She and Arthur talked long into the night as to how to overcome that. Albus had been no help.

Ron was angry. He had spent most of the day degnoming the garden after getting angry that he wasn't getting any mail from Harry or Hermione. His mother was sympathetic – but she was still bossy and annoying. (Hermione would call her "dictatorial." Harry would modify it to "dictatorial bitch.")

Albus Dumbledore sighed when he received the report. It was apparent that he wouldn't see his pawn until term started. He began making plans.

Severus Snape had a single drink to salute a suddenly much more Slytherin Potter and then went back to his regular activities. The Dark Lord required energy potions and he was tasked with providing them.

* * *

************** WARNING: Lemon 2 until the chapter's end ********************

Harry and Hermione entered her room.

Hermione said, "Okay. You get ready for bed," she had a wicked grin when she said this so Harry was under no wrong conclusions as to what that meant, "and I will be back in a few minutes. You sit right there." She pointed to the comfortable chair that she often used to curl up in when reading.

Harry carefully covered the chair in a large towel and sat down with only a small robe on. He wasn't even wearing boxers.

Hermione soon returned and Harry gulped when she appeared again. She was in a sheer robe with Breast supports, stockings – and it was obvious that there were no other coverings beneath the frill at the bottom of the robe. Two small vials were tied across her chest in red ribbons.

She walked over and said, "Unwrap your presents."

He grabbed the ties and the vials easily came off. She grabbed one and said, "I take this one." She uncapped it and drank quickly. "You take that one – it will allow us to celebrate repeatedly. Mum and dad know we won't be up tomorrow to see them off."

Harry was wide eyed as he took the potion. He felt an almost immediate effect.

Hermione wickedly grinned and made no effort to keep her robe closed that had opened when the ribbons were released.

As she did earlier, she dropped to her knees and once again took Harry into her mouth. She actually quite liked the control she enjoyed during this act – Harry was at her complete mercy.

She hummed as she took him all the way to the back of her throat. Her book said he would feel the humming. Harry groaned as Hermione played her flute.

"Hermione … I'm going to …" he groaned again before he could finish that. Hermione never paused. Very soon Harry's reaction was inevitable and Hermione calmly just swallowed without making a show of it – there were better things planned.

Harry was now totally relaxed. Hermione stood and drank a little water as she laid on the bed, completely exposed. Harry looked over and Hermione crooked her finger him and her finger said, "Come here."

Harry stood and made his way over. He stood at the foot of the bed. She lay before him, her elbows holding her up, her sex completely in view. He started to drop to his knees so he could pleasure her fanny with his mouth but Hermione said, "Uh Uh," while shaking her head.

Harry was confused. Wasn't this where he was supposed to return to favor?

"We're both fully 16 now. And it's time for the next step," she said to him as she grinned.

Harry was wide-eyed. "It's your first time. Umm. The book said it'd hurt."

Hermione shook her head a little. "Bicycle took care of it years ago. I just have to get used to it. Just start slow."

Harry carefully climbed up and kissed Hermione even as he fumbled around a little with his member. Hermione smiled gently even as she kissed him and reached down herself. She grabbed him and directed it to the entrance. "Slow at first," she quietly said.

Harry nodded and, heeding her words, he slowly pushed forward. Hermione concentrated on the feeling of the first time Harry entered her. It was a bit tight, but she was so aroused that there was no problem with lubrication.

Both groaned a bit when he was fully inside. She wrapped her arms around him and he used the little leverage he had to slowly pull out before moving in again. Having never done this, it took a few shiftings before a good position was fully in place.

Hermione had now gotten used to the full feeling and urged him to move faster. Harry complied and kissed her again even as he did so.

Very soon, Hermione felt the first small peak and the clenching caused Harry to moan again as well. "Should .. I.. pull … out?" he panted as he moved.

Hermione moaned, "Pepper up … and … contraception … are … safe ... to mix … don't .. pull out!"

At hearing that Harry sped up even more and both were now moaning loudly. Thank Merlin for silencing charms!

Suddenly, Harry lost all control and cried out her name. Hermione had just come off of her largest peak yet and so could concentrate on milking his member with her fanny muscles.

Harry finally took a deep breath and grinned through his sweat and panting. "That was brilliant!" He slipped out as he turned to rest on his side next to her.

Hermione grinned as well. "Absolutely! Much better first time than the books said."

When they both caught their breath, Harry was still rock hard and Hermione pushed him onto his back. She then got up and threw her knee over. "Ready to go again?" she asked.

Harry nodded enthusiastically. She slowly lowered herself onto him and grunted a bit as new parts of her seemed to come into contact with him.

The two tried several positions as the evening passed into the night. Harry even took her from behind while standing next to the bed while she had her fanny raised and her torso lowered so much her face was buried in the bed.

All in all, both enjoyed their first times immensely.


	23. Summer

The rest of the summer was a very pleasant time for the two lovebirds.

Harry, for the first time – ever, really – was able to actually enjoy his life. He and Hermione did spend a bit of time studying. The books they got in the US were very helpful.

But they didn't spend all of their time studying. They also spent time enjoying their relationship. Many nights were spent in the traditional dance that lovers danced. Other nights were given over to just cuddling and spending time increasing their knowledge of each other.

There were a few incidents of note: In the first week of August, Dobby popped in to report a problem at Grimmauld Place.

"Master Harry Potter Sir!"

Harry, who had been reading quietly in the library with Hermione, looked up. "Dobby! How are you? How are things going?"

"Master Harry! Dobby and Winky be having problem. Kreacher prevents us from taking dark locket to cellar! Dobby tells him it be Master's order but Kreacher refuses!"

Harry's face took on a look of anger. Dobby started looking terrified. Hermione said sharply, "Harry!" He looked over. "Be nice to Dobby! It isn't his fault!"

Harry was confused. "How wasn't I nice?"

"You looked angry with him!"

Harry looked over and saw that Dobby was almost cowering, having seen Harry's face. Harry was quick to change his expression. "Dobby! It's okay. You did the right thing in telling me. I don't want something I tell you to do to be harmful or cause a problem."

Dobby looked up hopefully and saw the scary expression gone. "Is okay! Dobby not want to do bad job."

Harry looked at Hermione. "You want to come with me to handle this?"

Hermione thought about it and then nodded. "Yes. It's good to get away from the books once in a while."

Harry looked at her in shock. "Who are you and what have you done with my Hermione?"

Hermione smirked and hit him in the arm. "Prat!"

Harry grinned. His face then became serious. "Dobby, can you take us to Grimmauld Place or should I call Winky to help?"

Dobby nodded enthusiastically. "Dobby can do!"

Dobby took their hands and suddenly, they were in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. They looked around. It was much cleaner and very much more inviting.

Harry called out, "Kreacher!"

Soon, Kreacher shuffled in the room. He looked up and Harry and mumbled. "Half-Blood Master and Mudblood have invaded House of Black again. Mistress would be so ashamed."

Dobby, who heard the insults, became very angry. He raised his hands to cast magic. "Kreacher insults Master Harry Potter Sir! Kreacher must be punished!"

Before he could make a move Harry said loudly, "Wait!"

Dobby looked at Harry in confusion. "House elf that insults Master must be punished!"

Harry looked at Dobby, at Hermione, and back to Dobby. "Well, first let me find out what this is all about. We'll go from there."

Dobby nodded and then turned back to Kreacher. "Kreacher insults Master Harry Potter Sir. Master Harry Potter Sir asks Dobby not to punish Kreacher. But if Kreacher insults Master Harry Potter Sir again, Dobby will get permission to punish him."

Harry shook his head. He almost felt like he was going to get a headache.

"Anyway. Kreacher! I have been told that you have prevented Dobby from getting rid of a Dark item. Tell me about this dark Locket!"

Kreacher suddenly looked terrified – and very emotional. "Kreacher must take care of Locket!" He looked like he was trying to not talk, but the compulsion to obey overrode it. "Master Regulus ordered Kreacher! Kreacher must not say!"

Harry looked at Hermione, who looked just as confused as he felt. He turned back. "Kreacher. As your Master, I am ordering you to tell me about the Locket and Regulus."

He put in as much force as he could without sounding angry.

Kreacher finally broke down and started speaking. As soon as Harry realized what Kreacher was talking about – Harry became much more sympathetic.

When he was done explaining, Harry was surprised when he heard a small hiccup from the side. He looked over and saw that Hermione was in tears having listened to the whole story. Harry moved to comfort her.

"He's been torturing himself for years about this! It's no wonder he hasn't been okay. We have to help him!"

Harry nodded. He noticed that Kreacher suddenly looked more hopeful. Dobby looked less murderous too. "Kreacher. In this case, you were given an impossible order. If the Locket is what I think it is, it will take a special procedure to destroy it. You did right in not telling anyone about this too. Voldemort made several of these. I destroyed one and got Gringotts to destroy two more. I will go to Diagon Alley soon to get my books. If you bring the Locket when I call, I will turn it over to Gringotts to destroy – and I'll ask them to allow you to do what you can to help them."

Kreacher gave Harry a look he was more used to from Dobby. "Master will help Kreacher destroy Locket?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. Until then, keep it safe and tell no one else about it." He turned to Dobby. "You will not try to move the Locket. Tell Winky as well. Everything else that's dark, do as I originally said and put it in the cellar."

Dobby nodded cheerfully.

* * *

A few days later, Harry and Hermione received their Hogwarts letters. Hermione was about to grab hers when Harry stopped her. "Wait!"

Hermione looked at Harry with some confusion. "Why? It's out booklists!"

Harry said, "Maybe so – but I'd rather get Remus or Tonks here to check for spells before we touch them."

Hermione nodded. She called out, "Dobby!"

Harry looked at her with amazement. Dobby popped in. "Master Harry Potter Sir's Grangey calls for Dobby?"

"Yes. Can you contact Remus Lupin and ask him to come by?"

Dobby nodded. "Dobby do!"

Harry was looking at her in amazement. When she turned back to Harry she asked, "What?"

Harry grinned. "Oh. It's just amazing how much a couple of years can change someone. I remember a certain brunette beauty who refused to eat at Hogwarts because the elves weren't free."

Hermione gave Harry the gimlet eye. "You're bonded to Dobby and you pay him. This is just part of the service."

Harry shook his head. "Oh, I know. I'm just a little surprised."

Hermione didn't see the humour (or at least she refused to admit it right up front) and so gave him the cold shoulder for a while until Remus showed up.

Remus, when given the situation, did check. "You were right to check it. There are a few compulsion charms."

Harry sighed. "Can you remove them?"

"Certainly." Remus performed a few motions and then said, "Why don't I open them to check again before you make any mistakes?"

The two nodded. Remus carefully opened the enveloped and dumped the parchments out. They were clean. Hermione's prefect badge, however, was also charmed. Harry's Quiddich Captain badge was also charmed. "Just a couple more."

When the magic was all cleared, the two looked at the lists. Harry said, "Can you take us? We can go ourselves, but maybe it's a good idea to give the image that we're being careful." He was really stoked about getting Quiddich Captain.

Remus nodded. "I'll check with Tonks and see if she can come too."

Hermione was looking at her prefect badge with a small frown. Harry finally asked, "What is it, Hermione?"

She sighed and looked up. "I don't know if I want to be prefect if Ron's still the male one. He left it mostly to me last year and I don't really want to give him time where we're together away from you."

Harry thought about it. "Would McGonagall give him the badge with what happened this summer?"

Hermione gave him a look. "Harry, you know Dumbledore. Do you really think that he would take what happened into account?"

Harry briefly considered it. "You're right. Ron's on the quiddich team too. I don't know if it's a good idea to put ourselves in the position where we have to deal with Weasleys."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "I say we send them back with Hedwig. She hasn't gotten enough work anyway. We can explain to Professor McGonagall in a letter."

Remus agreed. "It's probably better to handle it quietly than to make a fuss. Merlin knows Albus will poke his nose in if he can."

The two wrote letters and gave them to Hedwig. After getting her treat, she flew off.

Remus suggested waiting four days to go to Diagon Alley.

"Why four days? Why not today or in a week?" Hermione asked curiously.

Remus smiled. "Because it is so random. It wouldn't be unusual to wait a day or two to go. But if you don't show up then, those who would be looking for you might expect you to wait until the last two or three days. They'll be less likely to be looking for you on a random Tuesday."

Harry turned to Hermione. "Why do we need to go to the Alley anyway, other than going to Gringotts?"

Hermione looked scandalized. "There might be books we don't know about!"

Harry nodded sagely. "Ahh. New books is always a good things." Hermione nodded in satisfied agreement.

The trip went as easily as they hoped. They didn't hide themselves – but they didn't make any effort to announce their presence either. They did make one exception.

When they were in the alley, they could see a new store dominating the landscape. Weasley Wizarding Wheezes was garish, loud, and packed.

Set against the dull, poster-muffled shop Fronts around them, Fred and Georges windows hit the eye like a firework display. Casual passersby were looking back over their shoulders at the windows, and a few rather stunned-looking people had actually come to a halt, transfixed. The left-hand window was dazzlingly full of an assortment of goods that revolved, popped, flashed, bounced, and shrieked; Harry's eyes began to water just looking at it. The right-hand window was covered with a gigantic poster, purple like those of the Ministry wanted posters, but emblazoned with flashing yellow letters:

WHY ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT YOU-KNOW-WHO?

YOU SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT U-NO-POO-

THE CONSTIPATION SENSATION THAT'S GRIPPING THE NATION!

Harry started to laugh. Hermione laughed right along with him.

They couldn't help themselves. They went into the shop. It was packed with customers; Harry could not get near the shelves. He stared around, looking up at the boxes piled to the ceiling: Here were the Skiving Snackboxes that the twins had perfected during their last, unfinished year at Hogwarts; Harry noticed that the Nosebleed Nougat was most popular, with only one battered box left on the shelf. There were bins full of trick wands, the cheapest merely turning into rubber chickens or pairs of briefs when waved, the most expensive beating the unwary user around the head and neck, and boxes of quills, which came in Self-Inking, Spell-Checking, and Smart-Answer varieties. A space cleared in the crowd, and Harry pushed his way toward the counter, where a gaggle of delighted ten-year-olds was watching a tiny little wooden man slowly ascending the steps to a real set of gallows, both perched on a box that read: reusable hangman — spell it or he'll swing!

"'Patented Daydream Charms

Hermione had managed to squeeze through to a large display near the counter and was reading the information on the back of a box bearing a highly colored picture of a handsome youth and a swooning girl who were standing on the deck of a pirate ship.

"'One simple incantation and you will enter a top-quality, highly realistic, thirty-minute daydream, easy to fit into the average school lesson and virtually undetectable (side effects include vacant expression and minor drooling). Not for sale to under-sixteens. You know," said Hermione, looking up at Harry, "that really is extraordinary magic!"

"For that, Hermione," said a voice behind them, "you can have one for free."

A beaming Fred stood before them, wearing a set of magenta robes that clashed magnificently with his flaming hair.

"Fancy seeing you two here!" Fred shook their hands. "Almost shocking in that the other red-heads have been complaining all summer that you can't seem to be found!"

Harry replied, "Well, I just learned a bit of independence. And to stop letting people control my life."

"Well, you're welcome here – and we won't be sending word we've see you." said Fred bracingly. "Come on, I'll give you a tour."

The tricks and products all seemed to be brilliant. Harry had a laugh when he saw a display which said: EDIBLE DARK MARKS -THEY'LL MAKE ANYONE SICK!

The other twin joined them on the tour. Finally, George pushed back a curtain beside the Muggle tricks and Harry saw a darker, less crowded room. The packaging on the products lining these shelves was more subdued.

"We've just developed this more serious line," said Fred. "Funny how it happened . . ."

"You wouldn't believe how many people, even people who work at the Ministry, can't do a decent Shield Charm," said George. "'Course, they didn't have you teaching them, Harry."

"That's right. . . . Well, we thought Shield Hats were a bit of a laugh – you know, challenge your mate to jinx you while wearing it and watch his face when the jinx just bounces off. But the Ministry bought five hundred for all its support staff! And we're still getting massive orders!"

"So we've expanded into a range of Shield Cloaks, Shield Gloves ..."

"... I mean, they wouldn't help much against the Unforgivable Curses, but for minor to moderate hexes or jinxes . . ."

"And then we thought we'd get into the whole area of Defense Against the Dark Arts, because it's such a money spinner," continued George enthusiastically. "This is cool. Look, Instant Darkness Powder, we're importing it from Peru. Handy if you want to make a quick escape."

"And our Decoy Detonators are just walking off the shelves, look," said Fred, pointing at a number of weird-looking black horn-type objects that were indeed attempting to scurry out of sight. "You just drop one surreptitiously and it'll run off and make a nice loud noise out of sight, giving you a diversion if you need one.

"Handy," said Harry, impressed. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Here," said George, catching a couple and throwing them to Harry.

A young witch with short blonde hair poked her head around the curtain; Harry saw that she too was wearing magenta staff robes.

"There's a customer out here looking for a joke cauldron, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley," she said.

Harry found it very odd to hear Fred and George called "Mr. Weasley," but they took it in their stride.

"Right you are, Verity, I'm coming," said George promptly. "Harry, you help yourself to anything you want, all right? No charge."

"I can't do that!" said Harry, who had already pulled out his money bag to pay for the Decoy Detonators.

"You don't pay here," said Fred firmly, waving away Harry's gold.

"But—"

"You gave us our start-up loan, we haven't forgotten," said George sternly "Take whatever you like, and just remember to tell people where you got it, if they ask."

George swept off through the curtain to help with the customers, and Fred led the two back into the main part of the shop.

Near the window was an array of violently pink products around which a cluster of excited girls was giggling enthusiastically. Hermione hung back, looking wary. Harry was curious.

Fred said, "Our Wonder Witch product line. Love potions, pimple removal cream, cosmetic products – it's a popular line."

Hermione looked at Fred warily. "Do you really want to be selling Love Potions to every girl who's looking for a quick date?"

Fred smiled, "Well, these are the ones that are temporary – last no longer than a day. Mostly just create infatuation."

Harry interrupted. "Well, you better provide me some antidotes – I can just imagine being targeted by every Boy-Who-Lived fangirl. I've got my witch – I don't need another!"

Hermione gave him a brilliant smile even as she nodded in agreement.

Fred grinned as he reached to a lower shelf. "Just the thing! In case you accidentally give the wrong chap the mickey – a spray bottle that'll counteract most any of these potions. Spray it in the face, breath it in – bam! No more infatuation."

Harry grabbed it. "I'll take six!"

The two had a good time for a while and then made their way out. Harry looked around for a convenient place to call for Dobby. His eyes lit upon a particular store.

Harry looked at his girlfriend. "I need to stop somewhere before we go."

Hermione looked curious but quietly followed Harry. She was surprised at their destination.

"Mr. Harry Potter. 11 inches, Holly with a phoenix feather. Ms. Granger, 10 3/4 inches, Vine with a Dragon heartstring. How can I help you today?"

The two had jumped a little when the voice came from behind unexpectedly. Harry still thought Ollivander was a bit creepy.

"Mr. Ollivander. You once told me that my wand shares a common core with another wand."

Mr. Ollivander looked at Harry intently. "Yes. 13 inches. Yew. Sold in 1937 to a Muggle-raised student."

Harry nodded. "An interesting thing happened about a year ago. I thought I should tell you about it."

Harry went on to describe the duel he had with Voldemort in the graveyard. The odd effect when their spells collided definitely caught Ollivander off guard.

"And you say it was the other wand which was forced to submit?"

"Yes."

Ollivander looked at Harry. "When you first came to my shop, I told you that I expected great things. It is good to see that my wishes have borne fruit."

Harry blushed a bit. "Thanks. But an interesting thing I noticed: He didn't understand exactly what was happening."

Ollivander considered that. "That isn't a surprise. One would have to be greatly familiar with wandlore. And that is a particularly rare phenomenon. Most brother wands are either not identical enough or not opposite enough for the effect to be created."

Hermione was confused and interjected her question. "Opposite enough?" Harry was curious as well.

"Yes. Take Ms. Granger's wand. It contains the heartstring from a hybrid dragon – an Antipodean Opaleye and a Norwegian Ridgeback. The two interbred at a preserve. I purchased the heart after it died in a fight with another dragon. The heart contains hundreds of strings. Would it really be logical that a wand with another heartstring from the same dragon would cause the phenomenon? If that were so, would it be so rare?"

The two teenagers considered that.

"Thus you arrive at the effect of the wood. Another Vine wand of similar length – or one about 13 ¼ inches – might have a similar effect if the two wands dueled. However, I did not create a wand matching such a description. However, the Vine wand uses a wood associated with knowledge and excitement toward learning. It also lends itself to the concept of authority – either to use it or to follow it. Consider if I created a wand from an adjoining heartstring using Lilac wood. Lilac lends itself to passion as well as the intellect – but it also lends itself to freedom from expectation. The opposite of Vine. One could say that it was an opposite wood. If I had made a wand with an adjacent or opposite heartstring with Lilac wood with a length of 13 ¼ - you might see a similar phenomenon if you had encountered someone wielding it against you."

He turned to Harry. "Holly is widely considered to be the wand of the tree of life or the tree of sacrifice. Yew, however, is known as the tree of resurrection – and so by its very nature it is intimately involved with death. Brother cores, opposite lengths, opposite woods. It is not that much of a surprise that you encountered such a phenomenon. A wand of Eldar might have had a similar effect had it contained a brother core."

Harry considered what he was told. He didn't really understand everything, but he wanted to make his point. "Thank you for the lesson. However, the reason I brought it up is: If the man who holds that wand wanted to learn WHY it happened, where would the best source be?"

Ollivander was taken aback. He hadn't considered that.

"I see. Well, if that's all?" Ollivander didn't have an emotional reaction – it wasn't his way. But he understood the message.

Harry nodded in acknowledgement. "Can I call my house elf to take us from here?"

Ollivander nodded in assent.

Once the two disappeared, Ollivander changed his sign to "Closed" and made his way to the back of his shop. He had to raise the war wards. He would not run, but common sense suggested taking SOME preventative measures.

By long-standing tradition, a Wandmaker was completely neutral and without bias. Sacrosanct. An attack on a Wandmaker was considered taboo in Pureblood society – but Tom Riddle was no pureblood. He was not one to allow sacred tradition to stop him.


	24. Story Incomplete

I have never been able to get back to finish this. My writing style and tendencies changed so much it would likely require a full re-write. It was a part of the series, so I did put it here. But finishing it might never happen.


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